January 25, 2010Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama indicated Monday that the election of a mayor in the Okinawa Prefecture city of Nago who campaigned against the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to the city did not necessarily mean the area would be removed as a relocation candidate.
"We've said that we'll start from zero, acting responsibly to reach a decision by the end of May, and we'll definitely do that," Hatoyama told reporters in front of his official residence on Monday.
The Nago mayoral election was won by newcomer Susumu Inamine, who campaigned to relocate Futenma -- currently situated in the Okinawa Prefecture city of Ginowan -- out of the prefecture.
Commenting on the results of the election, Hatoyama said, "It is an expression of the will of the residents of Nago." On the topic of relocating the U.S. base, he said only, "We have formed a committee over the relocation of Futenma. It is energetically working on the issue."
In related comments on Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano indicated that the government's line would not be swayed by the outcome of the mayoral election.
"I don't think there is a need for us to take the election into consideration in making a decision about Futenma," he said. Hirano is a member of a government panel formed to discuss base-related issues in Okinawa.
(Mainichi Japan) January 25, 2010
Posts
