Jan 26 07:19 PM US/EasternNAHA, Japan, Jan. 27 (AP) - (Kyodo) — The local government hosting the U.S. Marines' Futemma airfield is stepping up its demand for a shorter runway in an effort to reduce the potential danger to nearby residents, aside from the sticky issue of relocating the facility in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture.
The city of Ginowan is asking that the 2,800-meter Futemma runway, which has been undergoing repairs since earlier this month, 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 recently. "We hope the central government will convey the demand to the United States to help improve the safety of local residents."
The Ginowan government has pointed to the danger facing local residents, as well as to public facilities located in what it says should be clear zone areas.
The U.S. Marine Corps plans to complete the repair work in April. They have temporarily moved 13 fixed-wing airplanes to the nearby Kadena Air Base, while helicopter troops continue drills at Futemma.
Ginowan officials argue that a shorter Futemma 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 at the coastal area of Nago, another Okinawa city, by 2014.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has said his government would conclude negotiations with the United States on where to move the Futemma facility by the end of May, despite pressure from Washington to stick to the relocation plan agreed on 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 an Okinawa visit 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 being exposed to danger," Iha said.
The Defense Ministry says it is difficult for large airplanes carrying defective helicopters to land or take off from a 1,800-meter runway, adding that a sea bank for transport vessels is to be built under the agreement.
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