Kan comes under U.S. pressure to settle Futenma base relocation+

TOKYO, Feb. 17 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Thursday tried to withstand U.S. pressure to find
an immediate breakthrough in the deadlocked relocation of a U.S. base in
Okinawa Prefecture.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Wednesday in Washington he hopes
for a resolution to the issue of moving the Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station
within the Japanese prefecture by around the end of this spring.
But Kan, who is increasingly losing power in recent weeks, said Japan is not
considering putting a deadline on settling the relocation issue.
Kan told reporters in the evening that the government's position remains intact
that without setting a deadline it will seek ''the acceptance of people in
Okinawa in a cordial manner,'' while complying with an agreement struck last
May with the United States.
Japan and the United States have agreed to relocate the base within the
prefecture, from a densely populated district of Ginowan to a coastal area in
Nago.
The agreement has met with strong local opposition as former Prime Minister
Yukio Hatoyama, who resigned last June, had raised hopes that the base would be
moved out of the prefecture.
Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima showed displeasure following Gates' remarks.
Nakaima told reporters in the prefectural capital Naha that it seems the
relocation issue ''won't go anywhere by this spring.''
The governor also warned against making an important decision without hearing
the voices of the prefecture, saying Tokyo and Washington ''always go over the
head of Okinawa, which is a central player, in getting things done'' in the
negotiations.
Gates said, ''My hope is, based on my conversations in Japan, that we will have
some resolution of this by later this spring or early summer.''
In a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Gates also said the resolution is
a prerequisite for the transfer of U.S. Marine troops from Okinawa to Guam and
the return of U.S. bases south of the Kadena Air Base to the Japanese side.
The defense chief said that ''absent resolution of the Futenma replacement
facility issue, our troops aren't coming out of Okinawa, land is not being
returned to the Okinawans, and we have to sort of start all over again.''
He said the United States would not be able to ''go forward on Guam -- and in
fact, the Congress has withheld money for going forward on Guam -- until we
have greater clarity on what happens on Okinawa.''
Japan and the United States plan to hold the so-called two-plus-two meeting
involving their foreign and defense ministers during Japan's holidays from late
April to early May, where the relocation plan will be the top agenda item.
But it is unlikely there will be a breakthrough on the issue by the ministerial
meeting, given the strong opposition from Okinawa authorities and citizens.
''We have to keep the U.S. hopes in mind. But...I don't think that setting a
deadline would support efforts toward a resolution,'' Yukio Edano, the top
government spokesman, also said at a news conference.
Kan is planning to visit the United States by the end of June to meet with U.S.
President Barack Obama.
In the forthcoming summit talks, Japan and the United States are trying to
release a joint statement on their long-standing security alliance.
But no tangible progress has been made toward the relocation and it could turn
into a major stumbling block for Kan's planned visit to the United States.
Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and other
Cabinet members in charge of the Futenma relocation issue are expected to hold
talks as early as next week, according to government officials.
==Kyodo
2011-02-17 23:13:16