2010/01/25 10:54(JST)Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama calls the results of Sunday's mayoral election in Nago, Okinawa, a manifestation of the popular will.
A candidate opposed to building a US Marine air field in a coastal area of Nago won the election, defeating the incumbent mayor who had conditionally agreed to accept the facility.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Hatoyama also referred to a joint panel of the government and governing coalition partners which is due to decide by the end of May where the US Futenma Marine Corps Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa will be relocated. Hatoyama said the panel, presided over by Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, is working hard on the issue.
He reiterated that the government will come up with a conclusion by the end of May after reviewing the issue "from scratch", indicating that all possible alternative sites for the air field will be considered.
The 2006 agreement between Japan's previous government and the United States calls for relocating the US Futenma Marine Corps Air Station to a coastal area of Nago.
3 past mayoral elections in Nago were won by 2 candidates, including the incumbent mayor, who accepted the plan, on condition that the alternative facility be built further offshore. The Okinawa governor has also conditionally agreed to the plan.
However, during the lower house election last August, Hatoyama pledged to relocate the Marine facility outside Okinawa or even outside the country.
The United States has been pressing Japan to adhere to the 2006 plan, saying it is the only feasible option.
2010/01/25 10:54(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)
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