Machimura said after talks on the issue with US Secretary of State Colin Powell that Japan wanted "to lessen the excessive burden on especially Okinawa," where there was increasing resentment against US bases.

"That point is very important for us, so that we will continue and we will reach some conclusions in order to have a reasonable solution between two countries," the newly appointed Machimura told reporters, with Powell by his side.

Okinawa, captured by US forces in 1945 and returned to Japan in 1972, accounts for less than one percent of Japan's land mass but hosts about 65 percent of the 40,500 American military personnel in the country.

A series of crimes committed by US soldiers, as well as disputes over the ownership and use of the land on which US military facilities sit, have made Okinawa residents reluctant hosts.

Most recently, the crash of a US military helicopter on an Okinawan university campus in August revived anti-American sentiment and drew 30,000 protesters.

It was the largest anti-US military rally in Japan in nearly a decade.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is "considering all possibilities" in Tokyo's attempt to reduce the US military presence on Okinawa, a Japanese official said Thursday in Hanoi where Koizumi is attending an Asia-Europe Summit.

Powell said the United States would "certainly take into account anything" raised by Koizumi and Japanese ministers on the military reduction issue but added that Washington had a channel to deal with such issues.

Machimura also held talks with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice Thursday.

Powell said Rumsfeld would consider Machimura's comments and "present our point of view."

He expressed confidence that a resolution on the issue would be found under the US Defense Policy Review Initiative, or DPRI, a forum for establishing policies between the two countries.

"Through the DPRI system and process, we will work out answers to these questions," he said.

Tokyo and Washington have agreed to reduce the US military presence on Okinawa but no concrete plans have been worked out, partly due to the reluctance of other regions of Japan to assume part of the burden.

The United States wants to relocate some of the Okinawa bases elsewhere in Japan.

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