Japan-U.S. deal on U.S. forces realignment difficult to scrap: Okada

NAHA, Japan, Nov. 16 Kyodo -
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Monday it would be difficult to
''completely scrap'' a 2006 Japan-U.S. accord on the realignment of U.S. forces
in Japan, which includes a plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air
Station within Okinawa.
He made the remarks after meeting strong resistance from local governments over
his idea to consider the nearby U.S. Kadena Air Base as a possible place to
transfer Futemma to instead of the bilaterally agreed on relocation site.
At a press conference to wrap up his two-day visit to the southernmost Japanese
prefecture, Okada also said it is still ''too early'' to talk about the
feasibility of the plan to merge the Futemma facility with the Kadena base.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama reiterated earlier in the day in Tokyo
that Japan will engage in discussions on the Futemma issue with the United
States in a high-level working group without seeing as a premise the 2006
accord to transfer the facility to a less densely populated area in Nago in
northern Okinawa.
''If there was only one answer from the beginning, there would be no need for
Japan and the United States to discuss it,'' Hatoyama told reporters.
The first session of the working group will be held Tuesday in Tokyo, with
Okada, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos
and Wallace Gregson, assistant U.S. secretary of defense for Asia and the
Pacific attending, according to the Foreign Ministry.
In the wake of his first visit to Okinawa since becoming foreign minister in
September, Okada is expected to accelerate his study on the feasibility of the
Kadena-Futemma merger plan as he is hoping to settle the issue by the end of
the year.
But it is uncertain how Japan can work out a clear policy on the issue, which
is also straining ties with its key security ally, the United States.
On Monday, Okada explained to the heads of local governments hosting the Kadena
Air Base that the idea of merging Kadena with Futemma ''is one option that I am
considering,'' but that realizing a reduction in the noise level would be a
prerequisite.
But Tokujitsu Miyagi, mayor of Kadena, more than 80 percent of which is used
for the air base and related facilities, told Okada it is impossible for his
town to accept the merger proposal.
Miyagi said after meeting with Okada that he told the foreign minister ''It's
impossible to trust (you) even if I am told that our burden will be reduced,''
citing that a Japan-U.S. agreement on noise prevention is not functioning
effectively.
On the Futemma issue, the United States is pressing Japan to swiftly abide by
an existing bilateral accord to relocate Futemma to northern Okinawa, while the
new Japanese government has been eager to review the agreement involving the
planned realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.
But Okada said Monday he must admit that he has to consider the 2006 Japan-U.S.
accord ''as a premise to a certain extent'' because it has been agreed on
between governments.
''It's extremely difficult to discuss (the issue) by starting over with a clean
slate when there is already a certain agreement on the U.S. forces
realignment,'' he said.
Under the 2006 bilateral accord that took years to reach, the heliport
functions of Futemma Air Station in downtown Ginowan are set to move to a less
densely populated area in Nago by 2014.
The plan involves constructing two runways in a V shape in the coastal area of
Camp Schwab and the transfer of around 8,000 Marines to Guam from Okinawa.
Earlier in the day, Okada visited the Kadena Air Base, which is the largest
U.S. air base in East Asia. It has two 3,700-meter runways and is home to some
50 F-15 fighters, air refueling tankers, rescue helicopters and other aircraft,
while people living close to the area have been frustrated with the noise.
Consolidating the heliport functions of Futemma with the Kadena Air Base is an
idea that has already been considered and dismissed in past negotiations
between Japan and the United States on the U.S. military presence in Japan.
But Okada has said that merging the heliport functions of Futemma with Kadena,
which is already equipped with runways, would likely take less time than the
existing plan.
Japan feels pressure to get the Futemma facility out of a crowded residential
area, but 13 years have passed since Japan and the United States reached an
agreement on the return of the land to Japan.
In 2004, a Marine helicopter crashed at a nearby university, prompting an
outcry from people liv