Hatoyama says huge rally against Futenma relocation is 'one expression of public will'

April 19, 2010

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Monday that a major protest by the residents of Tokunoshima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, against a proposal to relocate a U.S. air base there should be understood as "one expression of public will."

Organizers of Sunday's demonstration by residents opposing the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Tokunoshima Island said 15,000 people participated -- more than half of the island's population.

"It's a great deal of energy," Hatoyama told reporters Monday. "I think it should be understood as one expression of public will, and while studying such public will, we, as the government, want to think seriously about the place to which Futenma will be relocated."

Photo: Residents shout slogans during a rally on Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture (state) held in protest against a plan reportedly under consideration by Japanese government to relocate Futenma U.S. Marine Corps air field in Okinawa Prefecture (state) to the island Sunday, April 18, 2010. Japan is seeking to move the contentious American military base off Okinawa, which hosts more than half the 47,000 U.S. troops in Japan under a security pact, and will finalize its proposal for Washington by the end of May. About 15,000 people took part in the rally, Kyodo News said. The sign means '(We) won't allow construction of a (military) base on Tokunoshima.'

Hatoyama made the comment after being asked by reporters whether the government planned to formally approach Tokunoshima about relocating the base there. The government has analyzed the situation in Tokunoshima, taking the size of the rally into consideration, and the comment is believed to be an indication that the government will continue to probe the idea of relocating the base to Tokunoshima while ascertaining public will.

The same day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano commented on recent poll results showing that many people think Hatoyama should step down if he does not settle the Futenma relocation issue by the end of May, saying, "I don't think it's an issue concerning whether or not he should resign. There are various government policy issues, and if the prime minister continues to maintain a line of pursuing those policies then there is no problem."

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(Mainichi Japan) April 19, 2010