Japan to decide on relocation of U.S. military base by May+

TOKYO, Dec. 25 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama vowed Friday to make a decision by next May on
the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa
Prefecture, with the possibility of finding a new relocation site in mind.
Hatoyama's pledge came after Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada conveyed Tokyo's
stance on the growing diplomatic issue to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton during a telephone conversation the previous night.
While the May 2010 deadline is now Japan's official promise to the United
States, efforts to find a solution acceptable for all parties are likely to run
into difficulties.
Hatoyama said during a news conference Friday in Tokyo that it is
''impossible'' to have the United States wait long before Tokyo reaches a
conclusion on the Futemma issue, saying, ''We have within half a year at best''
before Washington runs out of patience.
The United States has urged Japan to swiftly implement a bilateral plan to
relocate the Marine base to a less populated part of the prefecture as agreed
on in 2006, but Hatoyama said last week Japan will put off making a decision on
the matter and seek an alternative site.
Given the possibility that he might meet with U.S. President Barack Obama for a
summit around next May, Hatoyama said that keeping the deadline is ''my
government's responsibility.''
Hatoyama said that while his government is seeking an alternative site, it is
imperative to tell Washington that a decision on the relocation site will come
with appropriate budgeting, and expressed confidence about earning U.S.
understanding of the stance.
On Friday, Japan decided not to earmark expenses in its fiscal 2010 defense
budget for the construction of a new airfield in Okinawa to replace Futemma,
given the postponement of the decision over the relocation issue.
When the issue is settled, however, the government will be ready to respond by
either tapping its reserves as well as 1 trillion yen set aside for obligations
for unspecified use, or allocating necessary expenses in an extra budget for
fiscal 2010, a Finance Ministry official said.
Meanwhile, Okada told a news conference the same day that he and Clinton agreed
during the telephone conversation to continue to hold close consultations on
the relocation issue.
Okada said he explained the Japanese government's position on the issue and
Clinton's reaction was ''within the expected range.''
But he declined to explain in detail about the exchanges made during the
20-minute conversation.
Asked how he assesses current Japan-U.S. ties, Okada said during a regular
press conference, ''There's no change in that the situation is tough. But I
don't think it's like a situation in which they (the ties) will collapse.''
On the government putting off deciding on the issue, Okada said, ''While the
postponement is very regrettable, it was a decision that could not be avoided
-- there was no option other than this.''
On Monday, three parties comprising Hatoyama's coalition government will hold
the first working-level meeting on the matter, where they are expected to
consider possible alternatives as well as the existing relocation plan.
The existing plan is part of a broader Japanese-U.S. agreement on the
realignment of U.S. forces in Japan and is linked to the transfer of about
8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam by 2014.
The issue has emerged as a central problem between Japan and the United States
since Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan launched a coalition government in
September with a pledge to reexamine the realignment plan of U.S. forces in
Japan.
Expectations are growing among people in Okinawa that the government will seek
to relocate the facility outside the prefecture in line with the DPJ's stance
prior to the Aug. 30 House of Representatives election.
The southernmost prefecture hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan.
==Kyodo