THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
2010/04/22
Finally, it has come to this: The government's plan to relocate part of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Tokunoshima island did not even reach first base.
On Tuesday, the mayors of the three towns on the island in Kagoshima Prefecture off the southern coast of Kyushu were unanimous in rejecting an overture to meet with Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano to discuss moving some of Futenma's functions from Okinawa Prefecture to Tokunoshima.
Their refusal to even enter into talks means that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will have to look elsewhere if he has any hope of keeping to his self-imposed end of May deadline for announcing the Futenma move.
Hatoyama was asked by Liberal Democratic Party head Sadakazu Tanigaki in the Diet on Wednesday if he could still reach a decision by his end of May deadline.
"I will continue to stake my position in doing my best to implement all policies," the prime minister replied.
Kinya Takino, a deputy chief Cabinet secretary, called the three mayors--Akira Okubo of Isen, Kosuke Ohisa of Amagi and Hideki Takaoka of Tokunoshima--on Tuesday afternoon.
The mayors held a news conference later Tuesday at the Isen town government building to explain their decision.
Takino asked them to meet at an early date with Hirano in Kagoshima city to discuss the Futenma issue. Takino also said he wanted to learn more about the rally last Sunday in Tokunoshima that attracted an estimated 15,000 people opposed to moving Futenma's functions to the island.
The mayors discussed the matter among themselves and decided there was no point in meeting with Hirano, they said.
"The opposition rally was a decisive expression of the will of islanders and it cannot be overturned. There would be no progress even if we met with central government officials," Okubo said.
It emerged that some central government officials had believed the three towns would come around if sufficient economic stimulation packages were offered.
Islanders who were ambivalent about relocation plans apparently felt the central government made light of their opinions.
The mayors were also frustrated at having to wait three months before the Hatoyama Cabinet formally acknowledged it was considering moving some of Futenma's functions to Tokunoshima even though informal discussions had already taken place.
Okubo said: "The conclusion has been reached. No matter what form of persuasion or explanation is made, the will of the islanders will only become stronger. Talking about economic stimulation measures is now out of the question."
The Hatoyama Cabinet had wanted to enter into talks with the three town governments because the United States indicated it would not enter into discussions until the communities that would host the Futenma move approved the proposal.
Having rushed into the decision to talk with the three mayors, the Hatoyama Cabinet is now faced with the embarrassment of not even being able to begin talks.
One Cabinet minister said the prime minister's office had no backup plan on Futenma.
Tomoko Abe, policy chief for coalition partner the Social Democratic Party, openly suggested Tuesday that the government push back the date for making a decision on the Futenma move.
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