Ginowan mayor hints at candidacy for Okinawa gubernatorial poll

TOKYO, June 16 Kyodo -
Yoichi Iha, the mayor of Ginowan City that hosts a key U.S. Marine base in
Okinawa, said Wednesday he may run in the prefecture's gubernatorial election
to be possibly held in November and seek to change a Japan-U.S. accord to
relocate the base within the prefecture.
Iha, who has been actively calling for the transfer of the U.S. Marine Corps'
Futenma Air Station out of Okinawa, told a press conference in Tokyo that if he
successfully runs for the governor's post, he would not give consent to the
central government's plan to build a relocation facility in Nago, another
Okinawa city.
Japan and the United States released a new accord on May 28 to move heliport
functions of the Futenma facility located in a crowded residential area in
Ginowan to a less densely populated coastal zone near the Marines' Camp Schwab
in Nago.
The fresh pact underlined the failure of then Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's
efforts to relocate the base outside the prefecture.
Under Japanese law, the Okinawa governor has the authority over land
reclamation that might be needed to build a runway facility at the Camp
Schwab-Cape Henoko area and adjacent waters as stipulated in the bilateral
agreement.
Iha said at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan although he has not yet
officially decided whether to run in the upcoming gubernatorial poll, there is
a ''high possibility'' he will throw his hat into the ring.
''The upcoming gubernatorial election is very important as it provides a chance
for Okinawans to show their will (on the base issue). It will manifest how
ridiculous the idea is to build a new base in Okinawa 65 years after the end of
World War II,'' Iha said.
The four-year term of incumbent Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima, 70, will expire on Dec.
9 and an election must be held before that. Iha, 58, has been serving as
Ginowan mayor since April 2003.
The mayor expressed hope that results of the gubernatorial race will reflect
local anti-base sentiment and press the central government to alter its base
accord with the United States.
Hatoyama's successor Naoto Kan has made it clear that his government will abide
by the fresh Japan-U.S. agreement.
Iha pointed to the possibility that the central government will try to enact a
new law to deprive the Okinawa governor of the authority over land reclamation
to implement the bilateral accord. But the mayor said he believes the Futenma
relocation plan will never be realized without gaining understanding of local
residents.
''I believe the basic principle of the U.S. military is not to build a base
where it is not welcome,'' Iha said, suggesting that Okinawans have final say
over the base relocation.
The two countries originally agreed in 1996 on the return of the land occupied
by the Futenma airstrip to ease local base-hosting burdens such as noise and
risks of crimes and accidents, on condition that Tokyo provides a replacement
facility elsewhere.
Under the fresh deal, Tokyo and Washington confirmed that a replacement
facility will be built in Nago by 2014 as previously agreed upon and that the
construction will be ''completed without significant delay.''
==Kyodo