Suga Vows to Promote Okinawa Economy

Tokyo, Sept. 10 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday promised to take economy promotion measures for Okinawa Prefecture, particularly for those to be affected by the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station in the southernmost Japan prefecture. During a meeting at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima asked the central government to do something to cope with the impact of the relocation of the Futenma base from the Okinawa city of Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area of Nago in the same prefecture. The central government will do its utmost to protect the living environment of local people to be affected, improve their lives and promote the regional economy, Suga told Nakaima. Suga met with the Okinawa leader for the first time since last week's cabinet reshuffle, in which he assumed the concurrent post of minister in charge of alleviating Okinawa's heavy burden of hosting U.S. military facilities. Suga's remarks suggested that the central government has apparently moved away from its previous stance of treating regional economic promotion and the Futenma base relocation separately. The change comes ahead of the Okinawa gubernatorial election on Nov. 16, in which Nakaima will run for a third term. Nakaima has shown his tolerance of the Futenma base being relocated to the Henoko area. Earlier on Wednesday, Nakaima met with Defense Minister Akinori Eto and asked the government again to ensure that the use of Futenma air station will end within five years. Eto replied that the central government will strive further to steadily implement the Futenma relocation so that the dangers related to the base will be eliminated. In Nago on Wednesday, its mayor, Susumu Inamine, criticized Suga for saying that the Futenma issue is a problem of the past. Suga made the comment at the day's press conference, noting that Nakaima approved late last year landfill work off Henoko that is necessary for the construction of a facility to take over the Futenma base functions. Inamine told reporters that the Futenma issue will be a very big point in the gubernatorial election, showing his determination to help Takeshi Onaga, mayor of Naha, the capital of Okinawa, win the local election. Onaga, an opponent of the Futenma relocation plan, on Wednesday announced his intention to run in the race. END