Hatoyama begins talks with ministers on U.S. base relocation

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TOKYO, March 23 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama launched talks with Cabinet ministers concerned
Tuesday to work out a relocation plan for the U.S. Marines' Futemma Air Station
in Okinawa Prefecture, so the government can conclude the stalled issue by its
self-imposed deadline of the end of May.
Hatoyama met at his official residence with Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi
Hirano, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa as
well as Seiji Maehara, minister in charge of Okinawa affairs.
Hatoyama said in a parliamentary session earlier Tuesday that he has no
intention of disclosing details of their meeting.
Hirano, who leads a government panel aimed at studying a relocation plan, told
reporters after the talks, ''I just informed them (the premier and other
Cabinet ministers) of the past background and the current situation.''
He apparently briefed the ministers on the proposals presented earlier this
month by the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's two coalition partners -- the
Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party.
The DPJ-led government is expected to compile its plan based on two ideas --
one to build a 1,500-meter or longer runway at the Marines' Camp Schwab in Nago
without land reclamation and move the Futemma airfield in Ginowan there, and
another to relocate the base to an area to be reclaimed off the coast of the
U.S. Navy's White Beach facility in Uruma.
The government aims to lay out the plan by the end of this month so it can
start negotiations with the United States as well as local people in the
locations that will host the Futemma facility.
The government is likely to face difficulties securing agreement from the
United States, which has been pressing Japan to stick to a bilateral deal
agreed on in 2006 to transfer Futemma to the coastal area of Camp Schwab -- a
plan requiring land reclamation that has triggered strong local opposition.
The United States has told Japan that it will not negotiate any alternative
plan if the community named to host the replacement facility does not accept
the proposal, sources close to Washington and Tokyo said earlier.
Any plan to relocate the base within the prefecture could also touch off fierce
backlash from people in Okinawa, as Hatoyama has pledged that his government
will seek to transfer it outside Okinawa or even outside Japan to alleviate
their base-hosting burden.
In the session at the House of Councillors Budget Committee, however, Hatoyama
even hinted at the possibility of continuing to use Futemma, citing emergency
situations in the East Asian region.
''I wonder if we could do without Futemma when we face a contingency,'' he said.
He later told reporters, ''What's most important is to remove the danger of
Futemma and prevent noise pollution. That's our first and foremost purpose, and
that purpose must be achieved.''
He reiterated that the government is studying every possible option apparently
including the existing deal as well as a plan to leave the Futemma facility in
Ginowan.
Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine told reporters Tuesday, ''I can never ever accept
relocation to the city of Nago,'' while Ginowan Mayor Yoichi Iha called again
for an early relocation, saying an accident can occur anytime if Futemma
remains in the crowded residential area of the city.
After the government formulates its relocation strategy, Hirano and Okada are
expected to brief Washington on the plan, which would serve as the basis for
negotiations between the two countries.
The Futemma transfer is part of a broader 2006 realignment road map for U.S.
forces stationed in Japan, which also includes the relocation of 8,000 Marines
to the U.S. territory of Guam by 2014.
Hirano said at a press conference in the afternoon that the government will aim
to shut down Futemma and return the land to Okinawa as promised in the road
map.
==Kyodo
2010-03-23 23:19:32