Obuchi: Logistical Support Not to Exceed Japan-US Security Treaty Framework 　　Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said Tuesday that Japan's logistical support for US forces in emergency in "areas surrounding Japan" under the revised bilateral defense cooperation guidelines will not exceed the framework of the Japan-US security treaty. 　　Obuchi was responding to a question raised by Tetsuzo Fuyushima, secretary-general of the New Komeito Party at the House of Representatives Budget Committee. 　　"It is unthinkable that Japan would offer to provide logistical support for US forces in emergencies in the Middle East, the Indian Ocean or the opposite side of the earth," Obuchi said. 　　The Japan-US security treaty is generally considered to cover the Far East and its vicinity. 　　In 1960, the Japanese government defined the "Far East" as roughly covering Japan and areas extending south to the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan of China. 　　Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura, referring to the same issue, said that the government's view of "areas surrounding Japan" is not totally without geographical basis. 　　These remarks signaled a change in the Japanese government's stance over the issue as it had earlier maintained that "surrounding areas" is not a geographical concept but a situational one. 　　On Tuesday, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Liberal Party (LP) confirmed at a meeting of party leaders that there are implicit geographical limits to the logistical support Japan would provide for US forces under the new guidelines. 　　However, they also agreed that the geographical areas where the military support would be given should not be described. 　　Yukihiko Ikeda, the top policy-maker in the LDP, told the meeting that it would not be convincing to say that such emergencies could not be defined in a geographical way. WorldNews 1999-01-28 Page6 Full Story in Chinese