Hatoyama open to base ideas

Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010
Kyodo News

Public is asked to sit back and let Futenma decision process play out

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama did not oppose Wednesday a high-ranking government official who said it is "impossible" to relocate the U.S. Futenma air base to Nago, both in Okinawa.

The official, who spoke to reporters late Tuesday, said moving U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to U.S. Camp Schwab in Nago in line with the existing plan is "absolutely impossible under the current circumstances."

Given that the candidate who opposes the Futenma move won the Nago race, the official said "there is strong opposition" in the city.

"It would be like the Narita struggle," the official said, referring to the long and bitter battle in Chiba Prefecture over the construction of Narita International Airport. "That would be a sad thing and not acceptable."

Photo: Smoothing out the rough spots: Workers make repairs on the 2,800-meter runway at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on Saturday.

Asked to comment on that remark, Hatoyama only said Wednesday there is room for competing ideas on finding a new site for the Futenma base.

"The presence of various ideas is possible in the current process," Hatoyama told reporters.

He asked the public to watch developments calmly as a government committee discusses where to move Futenma's operations.

Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said Wednesday that as a general argument, there is the possibility of taking forcible action, such as compulsory appropriation of land. But "that makes it all the more necessary to obtain local understanding," he said at a news conference.

Hatoyama reiterated the government will reach a conclusion by the end of May that will be acceptable to the public in general, residents of Okinawa and the United States.

On a news report suggesting that Tokuno Island in Kagoshima Prefecture has come up as an alternative site, he said, "While I don't mean to deny the possibility that various things will be considered, everything (will be examined) on a zero basis."

Hirano, who chairs the government panel searching for alternatives to the existing relocation plan, declined comment on the official's remark.

While the government is reviewing the existing plan at the panel, the United States has pressed Japan to proceed with the plan on the grounds that it is the only viable option.

In the closely watched election, Susumu Inamine beat Mayor Yoshikazu Shimabukuro, who had expressed his willingness to accept the relocation. Inamine will be sworn in Feb. 8.

City: Shorten runway

NAHA , Okinawa Pref. (Kyodo) The city of Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, host of the U.S. Futenma airfield, is stepping up its demands that the runway there be shortened to reduce the potential danger to nearby residents aside from the sticky issue of relocating the facility elsewhere.

The city is asking that the 2,800-meter runway, which is undergoing repairs as the relocation has been put on hold, be shortened by 1,000 meters while calling for establishing clear zones aimed at preventing obstructions for landings and takeoffs.

"Coupled with the repair being done, work should be done to shorten both ends of the runway by 500 meters each and instead create clear zones," a city official said. "We hope the central government will convey the demand to the United States to help improve the safety of local residents."

The municipal government has pointed to the danger facing nearby residents as well as public facilities located in what it says should be clear-zone areas.

The U.S. Marine Corps said the delay in the relocation has made the repair work necessary to ensure safety levels. The work is to be completed in April. They have temporarily moved 13 fixed-wing airplanes to the nearby Kadena Air Base while helicopter crews continue drills at Futenma.

A Marine Corps official, however, denied that the move implies support for a proposal that has been floating around the central government to transfer Futenma's operations to Kadena.

Ginowan officials argue that a shorter Futenma runway would be acceptable, given that a 2006 Japan-U.S. agreement called for building two 1,800-meter runways in a V-shape configuration in the coastal area of Nago, farther north on Okinawa Island, by 2014.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has said his government will conclude negotiations with the U.S. on where to move the Futenma facility and reach a decision by the end of May, despite pressure from Washington to stick to the relocation plan agreed to in the bilateral accord.

Ginowan Mayor Yoichi Iha said he spoke about the idea of a shorter runway when he met with Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano on Jan. 9 during a visit to Okinawa by the top government spokesman.

"We just want to improve the situation, in which children have to study and people have to live close to the base while being exposed to danger," Iha said.

The Defense Ministry says it would be difficult for large airplanes carrying broken-down helicopters to land or take off from a 1,800-meter runway, which could be seen as a reason not to shorten the landing strip.