Japan sounds out U.S. on inland helipad at Camp Schwab: sources+

TOKYO, Feb. 19 Kyodo -
Japan has sounded out the United States about an idea to build a helipad at the
U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Schwab in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, to relocate the
Marines' Futemma facility, instead of a 2006 plan agreed by the two countries
to move the facility to a coastal area off the camp, several government sources
said Friday.

The government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama informed Washington in early
February of the idea of building a helipad 300 to 500 meters long, along with
transferring some of the training drills conducted at the U.S. Marine Corps'
Futemma Air Station, which is located in a crowded residential area in Ginowan,
outside of the southernmost Japanese prefecture, according to the sources.
But it remains unclear if the United States will agree to the idea after
pressing Japan to stick to the original 2006 relocation plan and build a runway
1,600 to 1,800 meters long for the relocation.
Should there be any signs of agreement in their negotiations, Hatoyama is
expected to visit the United States in April to hold talks with U.S. President
Barack Obama, the sources said.
The prime minister denied, however, that Tokyo had sounded out the United
States about the idea through ''any official channels.''
''The government is not at the stage of sounding out, and discussions are still
going on within the government,'' he said, while declining to comment on
specific relocation options.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano also said, ''We have not conducted any
negotiations with the United States in advance'' of a government task force's
conclusion on where to transfer Futemma.
''It is not true that the government is negotiating (with the United States)
based on any clear, specific intentions,'' the top government spokesman, who
also chairs the government task force, said, while adding that he is not aware
of any lawmakers ever having discussed the idea with U.S. officials.
The prospects also look murky for coordination among Japan's three ruling
parties as well as negotiations with residents in Nago.
The plan is expected to trigger a fierce backlash from people in Nago. Susumu
Inamine, who opposes hosting any more U.S. facilities, was recently elected as
the city's mayor, while the Social Democratic Party, one of the two junior
partners in the ruling coalition led by Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan,
has also expressed its opposition to the plan.
At a press conference Friday, SDP chief Mizuho Fukushima said, ''I understand
that the Nago mayor, the people in Nago and those in Okinawa Prefecture think
moving the facility to either the coastal area or inland is not an option.''
Hatoyama said he could reach a conclusion that would satisfy both the SDP and
the People's New Party, the DPJ's other coalition partner, stressing that the
DPJ will continue forming a coalition government with them despite differences
of opinion over a number of issues.
The sources said the government is considering constructing the helipad at Camp
Schwab, while moving the drills for Marine helicopter forces to Tokunoshima
Island or Mage Island, both in Kagoshima Prefecture in the southern Japanese
region of Kyushu.
The government has also informed senior officials of the three ruling parties
of the plan, including DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa, Shizuka Kamei, who
heads the PNP, and senior SDP officials, according to the sources.
The sources said that considering the circumstances, the PNP has decided to
propose the inland relocation plan to the government task force.
On Friday, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said the idea is worth studying,
citing the 2007 relocation of the Sobe Communication Site in the village of
Yomitan to the Marines' Camp Hansen in Kin, both in Okinawa, which did not
provoke much protest from local residents.
''The transfer of the Sobe site to a place inside a (U.S.) military base did
not trigger major opposition. I believe we should learn from such history,''
the defense minister told reporters.
Japan and the United States agreed in 2006 to build V-shaped runways in the
coastal area by reclaiming land off Camp Schwab in Nago to accommodate the
Futemma heliport functions as part of a broad realignment of U.S. forces in
Japan including the transfer of 8,000 U.S. Marines to the U.S. territory of
Guam.
Hatoyama is aiming to find a relocation site and conclude negotiations with the
United States by the end of May.
==Kyodo
2010-02-19 21:44:31