The Yomiuri Shimbun
Some government officials are considering an option to modify the existing relocation plan for a U.S. Marine Corps base in Okinawa Prefecture, agreed upon between Japan and the United States in 2006, to break the deadlock over the issue, according to Japanese government sources.
Under the current plan, the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station will be relocated to a seashore area of U.S. forces' Camp Schwab in the Henoko district of Nago in the prefecture.
As it is thought to be nearly impossible to resolve the issue by the end of next month, as pledged by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, the government is believed to have been forced to revert to the initial plan, which is seen as most acceptable to Washington, according to observers.
But Hatoyama still publicly adheres to the position of relocating the air station outside Okinawa Prefecture. Residents in the prefecture and the Social Democratic Party certainly will intensify their opposition if the government decides to keep the facility in the prefecture.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos discussed the Futenma issue at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
A Japan-U.S. diplomatic source Saturday said the U.S. side already had been informed about the modified plan, saying, "The Japanese government has begun internal negotiations on modifying the current plan and has notified the U.S. side of the modified plan."
The source said the modified plan is designed to be "environmentally friendly," with features that may include the following options:
-- Of two runways forming a V-shape, one will be built in an area where no land reclamation from the sea would be necessary.
-- The length of the runways will be shortened.
-- A mega-float--a huge floating structure on the sea--will be built off the Henoko district instead of reclaiming the sea.
The current relocation plan was forged as part of the road map for U.S. forces' realignment in Japan, which was agreed upon by the Japanese and U.S. governments in May 2006. Under the plan, about 160 hectares of land offshore from the Henoko district would be reclaimed to build a 210-hectare airport. Two 1,800-meter-long runways would be built in a V-configuration, with airport facilities to include hangars and aircraft parking aprons.
The Democratic Party of Japan-led government has been considering a variety of new plans, including one option that would construct an alternative facility on a land-based section of Camp Schwab, which stretches over a part of Nago, and relocate a U.S. helicopter unit to Tokunoshima island, Kagoshima Prefecture.
In the face of strong opposition from the U.S. side as well as local governments and residents who would be affected by such moves, the government is believed to have reconsidered modifying the current plan.
In Gunma Prefecture on Saturday, Hatoyama denied he was interested in modifying the current relocation plan.
(Apr. 26, 2010)
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