ID :
99227
Sun, 01/10/2010 - 22:54
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/99227
The shortlink copeid
Hirano views islands from air during Okinawa tour on Futemma issue
+
TOKYO, Jan. 10 Kyodo -
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano viewed Ie and Shimoji islands in
Okinawa Prefecture from a helicopter Sunday as part of his three-day inspection
tour related to the issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air
Station.
The names of the two islands have surfaced among ruling party officials as
possible candidate sites for the relocation of the base.
After the inspection, Hirano told reporters, ''Relocation sites are being
studied without preconditions,'' adding that a new government panel he chairs
on the Futemma relocation issue may also inspect locations outside of Okinawa.
The top government spokesman flew to the prefecture Friday to hear the opinions
of local governments and prefectural residents as the government bids to reach
a conclusion on the issue in the next few months.
Japan and the United States agreed in 2006 to move Futemma's heliport functions
to a planned airfield at the Marines' Camp Schwab in a less densely populated
part of the prefecture as part of the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.
But Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who launched his Cabinet last September,
chose to review the 2006 bilateral agreement reached by the previous
government, saying his government will come to a decision on the issue by May.
Regarding the government's self-imposed deadline, Parliamentary Defense
Secretary Akihisa Nagashima aired his concerns in Tokyo on Sunday, saying that
Hatoyama could lose the trust of the U.S. government if he misses the deadline.
''I'm worried that if the prime minister extends it, he may lose the trust of
the U.S. government,'' Nagashima said in a TV program, suggesting the issue
should be resolved as soon as possible.
He also made clear that he does not favor Shimoji Island as a candidate site.
''The essential point is whether we are going to continue to let U.S. Marines
stay in Japan,'' he said. ''If we see that as necessary for deterrence, then
Shimoji Island is complete nonsense from an operational standpoint.''
Hatoyama has promoted the idea of moving the Futemma heliport functions out of
Okinawa, or even out of Japan, to ease the burden of hosting bases on local
people.
Several different sites have been floated by ruling camp lawmakers.
==Kyodo
2010-01-10 21:26:59
TOKYO, Jan. 10 Kyodo -
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano viewed Ie and Shimoji islands in
Okinawa Prefecture from a helicopter Sunday as part of his three-day inspection
tour related to the issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air
Station.
The names of the two islands have surfaced among ruling party officials as
possible candidate sites for the relocation of the base.
After the inspection, Hirano told reporters, ''Relocation sites are being
studied without preconditions,'' adding that a new government panel he chairs
on the Futemma relocation issue may also inspect locations outside of Okinawa.
The top government spokesman flew to the prefecture Friday to hear the opinions
of local governments and prefectural residents as the government bids to reach
a conclusion on the issue in the next few months.
Japan and the United States agreed in 2006 to move Futemma's heliport functions
to a planned airfield at the Marines' Camp Schwab in a less densely populated
part of the prefecture as part of the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.
But Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who launched his Cabinet last September,
chose to review the 2006 bilateral agreement reached by the previous
government, saying his government will come to a decision on the issue by May.
Regarding the government's self-imposed deadline, Parliamentary Defense
Secretary Akihisa Nagashima aired his concerns in Tokyo on Sunday, saying that
Hatoyama could lose the trust of the U.S. government if he misses the deadline.
''I'm worried that if the prime minister extends it, he may lose the trust of
the U.S. government,'' Nagashima said in a TV program, suggesting the issue
should be resolved as soon as possible.
He also made clear that he does not favor Shimoji Island as a candidate site.
''The essential point is whether we are going to continue to let U.S. Marines
stay in Japan,'' he said. ''If we see that as necessary for deterrence, then
Shimoji Island is complete nonsense from an operational standpoint.''
Hatoyama has promoted the idea of moving the Futemma heliport functions out of
Okinawa, or even out of Japan, to ease the burden of hosting bases on local
people.
Several different sites have been floated by ruling camp lawmakers.
==Kyodo
2010-01-10 21:26:59
