ID :
95105
Wed, 12/16/2009 - 03:02
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/95105
The shortlink copeid
Japan puts off decision on U.S. base issue with no deadline+
TOKYO, Dec. 15 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama expressed hope Tuesday to seek an alternative to
an existing accord reached between Japan and the United States to relocate a
key U.S. military airfield within Japan's Okinawa Prefecture and that he would
need around ''several months'' more to reach a conclusion on the issue.
The remarks were made after the government decided to put off reaching a
conclusion on the issue until next year, without setting any deadline -- a move
that may likely frustrate the United States which has been calling on Japan to
swiftly abide by the existing accord.
But apparently in consideration of the United States, the Japanese government
will earmark expenses related to the existing relocation plan in the budget for
fiscal 2010 starting next April.
''I want to do everything in my power to create a situation in which we will
seek a site that is not in Henoko, if possible, and to settle on it,'' Hatoyama
told reporters in the afternoon, referring to the name of the location that is
designated under the Japan-U.S. accord to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps'
Futemma Air Station.
''To do that, time is needed in the order of several months, and that's my
understanding,'' he added.
Hatoyama did not confirm whether he sees next May as the deadline for fixing
the location site, saying only that the deadline issue has been left up to him
and his deputy, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano.
''This is not the kind of thing you could prolong (deciding) a government
policy on casually,'' the prime minister said, noting that Japan must
understand the feelings of the U.S. side to have negotiations on the matter.
Putting on hold the decision on where to relocate the Futemma facility is part
of the policy Tokyo adopted the same day for dealing with the issue in a
meeting of senior officials of the three ruling coalition parties.
The policy seems to indicate that the government has placed priority on the
stability of the three-party coalition, which was formed despite differences
over foreign policy issues.
It also includes the launch of a working-level consultation body among the
three parties to discuss the issue and considering where to relocate the
Futemma facility without ruling out the site in Okinawa agreed on in the
existing bilateral agreement.
Hatoyama said in the morning that his government would like to immediately
enter negotiations with the United States in line with the policy.
''I would like to do my best to realize the decision in the negotiations with
the United States,'' he told reporters.
But there is no guarantee that the United States would accept holding such
negotiations, with the two countries suspending discussions at a high-level
working group set up in November to discuss the matter.
Asked if Japan would seek to change the existing accord, Defense Minister
Toshimi Kitazawa said, ''There is a possibility that Japan would eventually do
as such.''
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada conveyed the policy to U.S. Ambassador to Japan
John Roos at the Foreign Ministry building on Tuesday.
The Futemma relocation issue has emerged as a major sticking point between
Japan and the United States since the Democratic Party of Japan launched a
coalition government in September with a pledge to reexamine the realignment
plan of U.S. forces in Japan.
As part of the 2006 accord on the realignment, which took years to reach, the
heliport functions of the Futemma facility will be relocated to the coastal
area of the Henoko district in Nago, also in Okinawa, by 2014. The deal also
includes the transfer of around 8,000 Marines to Guam from the southernmost
prefecture.
Japan would prefer to get the Futemma facility out of a crowded residential
area, where it has posed various risks and noise problems for people living
nearby.
But 13 years have passed since Japan and the United States reached an agreement
on the return of the land to Japan. Some government sources criticized the
government for just deciding ''to do nothing'' on the issue.
In Okinawa, Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima stressed the need of the central
government to clarify when it plans to settle talks among the ruling parties
and negotiations with the United States.
Nago Mayor Yoshikazu Shimabukuro, meanwhile, appeared irritated as he told
reporters, ''I want the government to reach a conclusion at an early date.''
''If it (the relocation site) is outside the prefecture, then where is it? I
don't think it's good to just say 'outside the prefecture' or 'outside the
country' and do nothing,'' he said.
While the United States has pressured the new Japanese government to implement
the existing accord, expectations have been growing among people in Okinawa
that the DPJ will seek to relocate the facility outside of the prefecture in
line with its stance prior to the Aug. 30 House of Representatives election.
The risk of losing a tiny coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party, if
the government decides to accept the existing plan has also apparently made it
difficult for Hatoyama to quickly reach a decision on the issue.
Reflecting the awkward relationship among the ruling parties, a proposal by
Hirano, the top government spokesman and a DPJ lawmaker, to set a deadline to
reach a conclusion on the issue by next May was rejected by SDP leader Mizuho
Fukushima during Tuesday's government meeting.
The DPJ and the two coalition partners -- the SDP and the People's New Party --
are expected to continue discussing the matter.
Fukushima, who is also consumer affairs minister, reiterated her party's desire
to seek to move the Futemma facility outside of the prefecture or overseas to
reduce the burden on the people of Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S.
military forces in Japan.
''As the three ruling parties will decide the relocation site, I feel a heavy
responsibility. But I would like to reach a conclusion by working together,''
she said in a press conference.
On the envisioned three-party consultation body to discuss the issue, Hirano
told a regular press conference he will be in charge of the details. Kitazawa
is also expected to join the framework, according to Hirano.
==Kyodo
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama expressed hope Tuesday to seek an alternative to
an existing accord reached between Japan and the United States to relocate a
key U.S. military airfield within Japan's Okinawa Prefecture and that he would
need around ''several months'' more to reach a conclusion on the issue.
The remarks were made after the government decided to put off reaching a
conclusion on the issue until next year, without setting any deadline -- a move
that may likely frustrate the United States which has been calling on Japan to
swiftly abide by the existing accord.
But apparently in consideration of the United States, the Japanese government
will earmark expenses related to the existing relocation plan in the budget for
fiscal 2010 starting next April.
''I want to do everything in my power to create a situation in which we will
seek a site that is not in Henoko, if possible, and to settle on it,'' Hatoyama
told reporters in the afternoon, referring to the name of the location that is
designated under the Japan-U.S. accord to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps'
Futemma Air Station.
''To do that, time is needed in the order of several months, and that's my
understanding,'' he added.
Hatoyama did not confirm whether he sees next May as the deadline for fixing
the location site, saying only that the deadline issue has been left up to him
and his deputy, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano.
''This is not the kind of thing you could prolong (deciding) a government
policy on casually,'' the prime minister said, noting that Japan must
understand the feelings of the U.S. side to have negotiations on the matter.
Putting on hold the decision on where to relocate the Futemma facility is part
of the policy Tokyo adopted the same day for dealing with the issue in a
meeting of senior officials of the three ruling coalition parties.
The policy seems to indicate that the government has placed priority on the
stability of the three-party coalition, which was formed despite differences
over foreign policy issues.
It also includes the launch of a working-level consultation body among the
three parties to discuss the issue and considering where to relocate the
Futemma facility without ruling out the site in Okinawa agreed on in the
existing bilateral agreement.
Hatoyama said in the morning that his government would like to immediately
enter negotiations with the United States in line with the policy.
''I would like to do my best to realize the decision in the negotiations with
the United States,'' he told reporters.
But there is no guarantee that the United States would accept holding such
negotiations, with the two countries suspending discussions at a high-level
working group set up in November to discuss the matter.
Asked if Japan would seek to change the existing accord, Defense Minister
Toshimi Kitazawa said, ''There is a possibility that Japan would eventually do
as such.''
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada conveyed the policy to U.S. Ambassador to Japan
John Roos at the Foreign Ministry building on Tuesday.
The Futemma relocation issue has emerged as a major sticking point between
Japan and the United States since the Democratic Party of Japan launched a
coalition government in September with a pledge to reexamine the realignment
plan of U.S. forces in Japan.
As part of the 2006 accord on the realignment, which took years to reach, the
heliport functions of the Futemma facility will be relocated to the coastal
area of the Henoko district in Nago, also in Okinawa, by 2014. The deal also
includes the transfer of around 8,000 Marines to Guam from the southernmost
prefecture.
Japan would prefer to get the Futemma facility out of a crowded residential
area, where it has posed various risks and noise problems for people living
nearby.
But 13 years have passed since Japan and the United States reached an agreement
on the return of the land to Japan. Some government sources criticized the
government for just deciding ''to do nothing'' on the issue.
In Okinawa, Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima stressed the need of the central
government to clarify when it plans to settle talks among the ruling parties
and negotiations with the United States.
Nago Mayor Yoshikazu Shimabukuro, meanwhile, appeared irritated as he told
reporters, ''I want the government to reach a conclusion at an early date.''
''If it (the relocation site) is outside the prefecture, then where is it? I
don't think it's good to just say 'outside the prefecture' or 'outside the
country' and do nothing,'' he said.
While the United States has pressured the new Japanese government to implement
the existing accord, expectations have been growing among people in Okinawa
that the DPJ will seek to relocate the facility outside of the prefecture in
line with its stance prior to the Aug. 30 House of Representatives election.
The risk of losing a tiny coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party, if
the government decides to accept the existing plan has also apparently made it
difficult for Hatoyama to quickly reach a decision on the issue.
Reflecting the awkward relationship among the ruling parties, a proposal by
Hirano, the top government spokesman and a DPJ lawmaker, to set a deadline to
reach a conclusion on the issue by next May was rejected by SDP leader Mizuho
Fukushima during Tuesday's government meeting.
The DPJ and the two coalition partners -- the SDP and the People's New Party --
are expected to continue discussing the matter.
Fukushima, who is also consumer affairs minister, reiterated her party's desire
to seek to move the Futemma facility outside of the prefecture or overseas to
reduce the burden on the people of Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S.
military forces in Japan.
''As the three ruling parties will decide the relocation site, I feel a heavy
responsibility. But I would like to reach a conclusion by working together,''
she said in a press conference.
On the envisioned three-party consultation body to discuss the issue, Hirano
told a regular press conference he will be in charge of the details. Kitazawa
is also expected to join the framework, according to Hirano.
==Kyodo
