THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
2010/04/05
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has instructed his Cabinet members to work on a plan to move most of the U.S. Marine Corps' helicopter operations at Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture, sources said.
Hatoyama's plan, unveiled Friday, also calls for the construction of a heliport within the Marines' Camp Schwab in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, to facilitate the relocation of Futenma's functions.
Hatoyama's move is intended to keep campaign pledges by his Democratic Party of Japan to move the airfield's components outside the prefecture in line with calls from many Okinawan residents, the sources said.
The Cabinet Secretariat, Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry are expected to set up a task force to negotiate with Washington and the local governments involved. But the plan is likely to get bogged down amid opposition from both sides, the sources said.
The government also seeks to move training exercises at Kadena Air Base to locations outside the prefecture to ease the burden on Okinawans.
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