Okinawa local panel conditionally accepts base relocation+

NAHA, Japan, May 21 Kyodo -
A local decision-making body in the Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa, eyed
under a Japan-U.S. accord as the site for the relocation of a U.S. military
base also in the prefecture, decided Friday to conditionally accept hosting a
replacement facility.
The Henoko administrative committee adopted a resolution saying that the
district would endorse a plan under the bilateral accord to transfer heliport
functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in a crowded
residential area of Ginowan to a coastal zone of the Marines' Camp Schwab in
Henoko.
Japan and the United States agreed in 2006 to relocate the Futemma facility to
Nago by reclaiming land and building two runways in a V-shaped configuration.
The local group said it would accept the plan if the site for the runways is
moved offshore as much as possible to reduce noise and if the Japanese
government increases economic incentives for the region, committee members
said.
A committee member told Kyodo News earlier in the day that although the Henoko
district has never asked for the relocation, the existing plan was worked out
following more than a decade of negotiations between the central government and
local residents and that it is ''the only realistic plan'' to break the
stalemate over the Futemma transfer.
''If the central government makes a decision (to relocate the base to Henoko),
we could cooperate with conditions to revitalize the local economy,'' the
member said.
The government led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Democratic Party of
Japan, which came to power last September, has been reviewing the existing
plan. Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine, who assumed the post earlier this year, is
against it.
Japan and the United States have been trying to settle the issue of where to
relocate the Futemma airstrip by May 31.
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, who met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton in Tokyo on Friday, told a press conference that Tokyo may first try to
reach an agreement with Washington on the issue and then try to gain the
understanding of Okinawa people.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said Hatoyama will visit Okinawa on
Sunday in his attempt to win local support and pave the way for choosing a
relocation site by the end of this month.
The premier will hold talks with Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima and local
business leaders, but not with ordinary citizens in the prefecture, Hirano
said.
The upcoming visit will follow Hatoyama's trip to Okinawa on May 4 during which
he publicly announced for the first time his intention to relocate some of the
airfield's functions within the prefecture, contrary to the DPJ's campaign
pledge to transfer all of them outside of Okinawa.
''I hope to get people in Okinawa in the mood to think 'let's go in this
direction','' Hatoyama told reporters later in the day.
The government has been tight-lipped about the latest relocation plan. But
government and Japan-U.S. diplomatic sources said Hatoyama is considering
relocating the Futemma functions to the coast of Henoko area, which will be on
par with the existing Japan-U.S. plan.
The Okinawa governor said Friday he will tell Hatoyama during the weekend
meeting that the prefecture will not accept the transfer to the Henoko area,
even if he asks for it.
''The situation does not allow us to accept (the transfer). That's how I really
feel,'' Nakaima said at a news conference, amid growing opinion in Okinawa that
the airfield must be moved outside the prefecture.
Hirano said the government ''feels no reluctance'' in setting up a joint
council to discuss Futemmma relocation issues with Okinawa in line with
Nakaima's request.
In a related development, Hatoyama will seek cooperation from prefectural
governors in reducing the heavy presence of U.S. military forces in Okinawa
when he meets them next week, according to Hirano.
Hatoyama will attend a meeting of Japan's 47 prefectural governors in Tokyo
next Thursday.
Hirano said the main purpose of the meeting is to discuss how to lessen the
burden on Okinawa residents from hosting the bulk of U.S. forces in Japan under
a security pact.
He said national security matters are relevant to the entire country but
refused to elaborate on whether Hatoyama will present his idea of transferring
some of the military operations from Okinawa to other prefectures at the
meeting.
To meet the pledge of reducing the burden on Okinawa, Hatoyama is desperately
trying to transfer some of the Marine drills to Japan Self-Defense Forces bases
in the Kyushu region, according to the sources.
Hatoyama is aiming to unveil the government's relocation plan for the airfield
on May 28, the day after the meeting with the governors, the sources said.
One of the DPJ's small coalition partners, the Social Democratic Party, has
been urging Hatoyama not to give up on moving the Futemma base outside Okinawa
Prefecture.
SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima has indicated that the SDP may leave the ruling
coalition if Hatoyama decides to relocate the base within the prefecture.
Asked about that possibility at a news conference, she declined to give a clear
response on Friday, only saying, ''We will make utmost efforts to avoid
building a base in Okinawa.''
==Kyodo
2010-05-21 23:36:15


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