By Isabel Reynolds
Thursday, April 29, 2010; 11:43 PM
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Friday reiterated his pledge to resolve a row over moving a U.S. Marine base, though he has yet to formally reveal a plan a month ahead of a self-imposed deadline.
The feud over the Futenma base on Japan's southern Okinawa islands has helped erode support for Hatoyama's government, which slid to about 20 percent in a poll this week after a judicial panel said ruling party kingpin Ichiro Ozawa should be charged over a funding scandal.
Voter disillusionment bodes ill for the ruling Democratic Party's chances of winning a majority in the upper house election expected in July or August, which it needs to avoid policy deadlock.
"I said I would decide on an alternative location by the end of May," Hatoyama told reporters, denying his plans for Futenma were going off course.
"Of course, the people of Okinawa, the areas that could become the new host and America will all have their own views. We want to put together our plan based on that," he continued.
Hatoyama is set to visit the islands on Tuesday to explain his thinking to Okinawa governor Hirokazu Nakaima and visit locations affected by the bases, the top government spokesman told reporters on Friday.
Domestic media say he hopes to gain approval for a plan to shift some Futenma Marines to the tiny island of Tokunoshima, northeast of Okinawa, while altering plans for a new runway off the coast of Okinawa to reduce the environmental impact.
FUNDING SCANDAL WEIGHS
Officials both in Japan and the United States are concerned about the reaction his visit might spark after tens of thousands of people rallied on Okinawa last weekend to call for the base to be moved elsewhere, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Friday.
Residents of Tokunoshima have also demonstrated against any transfer of U.S. troops there and an influential leader on the island told Hatoyama this week his plans were not feasible.
Hatoyama also faces resistance from within his own ruling coalition. Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima said she had called him to say the proposal would not be accepted by local people.
"This will be a chance for him to face up to the powerful feelings of local people," she said of his upcoming visit.
The countdown to the May 31 deadline coincides with growing pressure on his ruling Democratic Party over Secretary-General Ozawa, with the latest poll showing almost 84 percent of voters think he should resign.
Ozawa, who is seen as a master election strategist but also something of a liability after three former and current aides were indicted over the funding scandal, said on Tuesday his conscience was clear and that he had no plans to step down.
The row has underlined cracks in Hatoyama's cabinet over the funding allegations, after the premier said he wanted to keep Ozawa in his post.
Transport Minister Seiji Maehara said keeping Ozawa on would affect the results of the election, but added the question of whether to resign was up to the individual, domestic media reported.
Finance Minister Naoto Kan also weighed in on the issue.
"A lot of things affect election results. But the public isn't convinced, so I'm worried about the impact on the upper house election," he told reporters, urging Ozawa to make more efforts to explain.
(Editing by Joseph Radford)
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