ID :
119135
Wed, 04/28/2010 - 08:40
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/119135
The shortlink copeid
Hatoyama wants to put final touches to gov't proposal for Futemma+
TOKYO, April 27 Kyodo - Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Tuesday he wants to put the final touches soon to a government proposal on where to move the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture.
But he denied that the Japanese government plans to present the proposal to
Kurt Campbell, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific
affairs, who is set to hold talks with Japanese Foreign Ministry officials in
Tokyo on Wednesday.
Campbell arrived in Japan on Tuesday night but refused to talk to reporters.
Hatoyama will meet with Torao Tokuda, a former lawmaker with considerable
influence over Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture on Wednesday morning,
possibly to lay the groundwork for seeking local approval for the government's
purported idea of transferring there some of the exercises conducted by the air
units at the base.
''There's no change in the current situation, in which we are seriously
considering a government proposal,'' the prime minister told reporters in the
morning. ''We're at the stage where I hope to put the final touches to it.''
Hatoyama also told reporters later in the day, ''I don't have any plans to
present (a government proposal) to Mr. Campbell and conduct a working-level
consultation (with the United States on it).''
With the idea of moving the base to Tokunoshima now rebuffed by residents
there, the government is considering modifying a current relocation plan that
seeks to build a replacement facility in a coastal area of the Marines' Camp
Schwab in Nago, also in Okinawa, according to Japanese government sources.
Under the modified plan, a pile-supported platform would be built in shallow
waters off the coast of Nago instead of reclaiming the sea nearby.
Meanwhile, Hatoyama said he will meet with Tokuda, president of the Tokushukai
hospital group, to apologize, apparently for confusion caused among Tokunoshima
islanders over the government's idea of moving the Futemma base there.
''The fact is we have caused them (Tokunoshima residents) trouble, and I want
to apologize to him,'' Hatoyama told reporters in the evening.
Tokuda, a former House of Representatives lawmaker with a support base on the
Kagoshima island, is now recuperating in Tokyo.
The government is reported to be considering transferring some of the exercises
conducted by the Marine air units at the Futemma base to Tokunoshima, which
lies about 200 kilometers northeast of the main island of Okinawa, along with
the modified relocation plan.
Tokyo aims to accelerate talks with Washington and begin coordination with
Okinawa with the modified plan given that Hatoyama has vowed to resolve the
matter by the end of May. But with a mass demonstration held in Okinawa last
Sunday seeking the base's relocation outside of the prefecture, the local side
is unlikely to accept it anytime soon.
The Social Democratic Party, which is part of a coalition government with
Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan, is also certain to oppose the modified
plan because it has advocated moving the base abroad.
Reiterating his willingness to work on both reducing the burdens of hosting
U.S. military facilities on the people of Okinawa and removing dangers posed to
residents near the Futemma base, which is located in the center of a
residential area in Ginowan, Hatoyama said earlier Tuesday, ''We are working
hard to propose a final government plan in a manner that would satisfy both.''
The existing relocation plan, finalized between the two countries in 2006 as
part of a broader agreement on realigning U.S. forces in Japan, has met stiff
opposition, partly because it involves reclamation of the sea.
Given the concern over the work's potential impact on the environment, the
Defense Ministry has been studying the platform alternative, which is expected
to have less of an impact on the environment.
''While every idea has so far been subject to consideration, I feel that the
existing plan has moved away from it, taking into account the results of our
consideration so far and the importance the gathering in Okinawa has had,''
Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said at a news conference on Tuesday.
The United States has taken the position that it prefers the existing plan or a
modification of it.
==Kyodo
2010-04-27 23:55:58
But he denied that the Japanese government plans to present the proposal to
Kurt Campbell, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific
affairs, who is set to hold talks with Japanese Foreign Ministry officials in
Tokyo on Wednesday.
Campbell arrived in Japan on Tuesday night but refused to talk to reporters.
Hatoyama will meet with Torao Tokuda, a former lawmaker with considerable
influence over Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture on Wednesday morning,
possibly to lay the groundwork for seeking local approval for the government's
purported idea of transferring there some of the exercises conducted by the air
units at the base.
''There's no change in the current situation, in which we are seriously
considering a government proposal,'' the prime minister told reporters in the
morning. ''We're at the stage where I hope to put the final touches to it.''
Hatoyama also told reporters later in the day, ''I don't have any plans to
present (a government proposal) to Mr. Campbell and conduct a working-level
consultation (with the United States on it).''
With the idea of moving the base to Tokunoshima now rebuffed by residents
there, the government is considering modifying a current relocation plan that
seeks to build a replacement facility in a coastal area of the Marines' Camp
Schwab in Nago, also in Okinawa, according to Japanese government sources.
Under the modified plan, a pile-supported platform would be built in shallow
waters off the coast of Nago instead of reclaiming the sea nearby.
Meanwhile, Hatoyama said he will meet with Tokuda, president of the Tokushukai
hospital group, to apologize, apparently for confusion caused among Tokunoshima
islanders over the government's idea of moving the Futemma base there.
''The fact is we have caused them (Tokunoshima residents) trouble, and I want
to apologize to him,'' Hatoyama told reporters in the evening.
Tokuda, a former House of Representatives lawmaker with a support base on the
Kagoshima island, is now recuperating in Tokyo.
The government is reported to be considering transferring some of the exercises
conducted by the Marine air units at the Futemma base to Tokunoshima, which
lies about 200 kilometers northeast of the main island of Okinawa, along with
the modified relocation plan.
Tokyo aims to accelerate talks with Washington and begin coordination with
Okinawa with the modified plan given that Hatoyama has vowed to resolve the
matter by the end of May. But with a mass demonstration held in Okinawa last
Sunday seeking the base's relocation outside of the prefecture, the local side
is unlikely to accept it anytime soon.
The Social Democratic Party, which is part of a coalition government with
Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan, is also certain to oppose the modified
plan because it has advocated moving the base abroad.
Reiterating his willingness to work on both reducing the burdens of hosting
U.S. military facilities on the people of Okinawa and removing dangers posed to
residents near the Futemma base, which is located in the center of a
residential area in Ginowan, Hatoyama said earlier Tuesday, ''We are working
hard to propose a final government plan in a manner that would satisfy both.''
The existing relocation plan, finalized between the two countries in 2006 as
part of a broader agreement on realigning U.S. forces in Japan, has met stiff
opposition, partly because it involves reclamation of the sea.
Given the concern over the work's potential impact on the environment, the
Defense Ministry has been studying the platform alternative, which is expected
to have less of an impact on the environment.
''While every idea has so far been subject to consideration, I feel that the
existing plan has moved away from it, taking into account the results of our
consideration so far and the importance the gathering in Okinawa has had,''
Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said at a news conference on Tuesday.
The United States has taken the position that it prefers the existing plan or a
modification of it.
==Kyodo
2010-04-27 23:55:58
