Saturday, April 3, 2010
Kyodo News
Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima conveyed anew Friday to Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa his opposition to the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within the prefecture, saying this would be "difficult" to realize amid growing calls from local residents to relocate the base someplace else.
"People of Okinawa strongly wish (that the base) be transferred out of the prefecture, and their movement has been gaining momentum," Nakaima told reporters after meeting with Kitazawa at a Tokyo hotel. "I told the minister there is a difference in the mood between Tokyo and Okinawa."
The governor also told Kitazawa it would be difficult to pursue an idea currently being studied by the government to build a heliport and fill in a shallows to accommodate Futenma's operations in the prefecture.
Later in the day, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama consulted with Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, Okinawa affairs minister Seiji Maehara and Kitazawa, all of whom are involved in the search for a relocation site, to discuss how the government should proceed.
"I'm having them move on the basis of my own plan right now, so I can't tell you the content (of the plan)," Hatoyama told reporters before the meeting. "I believe I can gain public acceptance based on a government idea by the end of May without fail."
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