Passage: In an opening round of talks late Monday with Japanese Defense Agency director Fumio Kyuma, Cohen reaffirmed Washington's determination to maintain US troops levels in the Asia-Pacific region at 100,000, Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said. Amid protests over the US military presence, landowners in Okinawa have refused to renew leases on US facilities when they expire in May, prompting Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto to seek passage of a law to override the landowners.
determination