Hatoyama indicates Japan may seek to rewrite U.S. base transfer deal+

OANA_NEWS




TOKYO, Dec. 11 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama indicated Friday that the Japanese government is
considering the option of rewriting a bilateral agreement with the United
States on the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in
Okinawa as it moves to formulate its policy on the thorny issue.

In a related move, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa expressed reluctance the
same day over the bilaterally agreed plan to use reclaimed land near the
Marines' Camp Schwab in the coastal area in Nago, Okinawa, for the airfield's
relocation, saying it would be difficult to obtain local consent.
The remarks are likely to draw criticism from the United States, which has
urged Japan to reach a conclusion by the end of the year in line with the
existing agreement to move the Futemma facility to the less populated part of
the southern island.
''It would be easy if we could just say, 'Let's go with it,' 'Yes,' to the
Japanese-U.S. agreement as it is, but we are not in such a situation now,''
Hatoyama told reporters Friday evening. ''I want to think about a path that
would be understandable to the United States, while comprehending the feelings
of the people of Okinawa.''
The prime minister said the situation has progressed and he would be able to
present a government policy ''not so far in the future,'' although he did not
elaborate.
Hatoyama's government, which took power from the long-ruling Liberal Democratic
Party in September, is reviewing the 2006 relocation plan with a view to
reducing the base-hosting burden on the Okinawan people. But Washington has
grown increasingly impatient with Tokyo's handling of the issue.
Kitazawa said Friday that he will seek a ''third path'' in settling the issue
because he believes it is necessary to finalize it by the end of the year,
indicating that he would consider an option that neither settles for the
existing relocation deal nor leads to an entirely new relocation site.
''I don't agree with the land reclamation at Henoko much,'' he said during a
television interview aired Friday evening, referring to the area at Camp
Schwab, to which the Futemma airfield would be moved from Ginowan under the
bilateral agreement.
''When I think about the feelings of the Okinawan people, I feel that it would
be fairly difficult to obtain their agreement to carry out fresh land
reclamation and build runways there,'' he said.
Under the 2006 agreement, two runways will be built by 2014 in a V shape on the
shores of Henoko, partially using reclaimed land, to host the Marines' air
operations at Futemma.
Some local residents, however, strongly oppose the relocation, citing the
potential damage to the local marine environment as well as aircraft noise
pollution.
The bilateral agreement, which encompasses the realignment of U.S. forces in
Japan, stipulates as part of a package that 8,000 Marines will be moved from
Okinawa to Guam in the same time frame. It is partially designed to reduce the
U.S. military's footprint in Okinawa.
Also on Friday, Hatoyama and the heads of the two ruling coalition partners of
his Democratic Party of Japan agreed to combine their ''wisdom'' to tackle the
Futemma issue, Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima said following
their meeting in Tokyo.
The SDP, one of the junior coalition members, opposes the current relocation
plan, arguing that Futemma's air operations must be moved out of the
southernmost prefecture or abroad. It has recently threatened to leave the
coalition if the government decides on relocation in the prefecture.
Last month, Japan and the United States began talks on the matter within the
framework of a high-level working group involving the Japanese defense and
foreign ministers and the U.S. ambassador. But the talks have been suspended.
==Kyodo
2009-12-12 00:07:37