April 15, 2010
Washington, April 14 (Jiji Press) -- The United States regards as only ideas options presented by Japan for planned relocation of a key U.S. base in Japan, a senior State Department official said Wednesday.
"It would be fair to say that what we have received to date from Japanese friends are ideas," said Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. "We have not yet received formal proposals," he said.
"We will look at other proposals from the Japanese side but they have to be carefully constructed to reflect both the political dynamic inside the country and our operational requirements," Campbell said.
Campbell thus indicated opposition to a plan studied by Japan to move part the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture, north of Okinawa, and building a new heliport in an inland area of the Marines' Camp Schwab in Nago, also in Okinawa.
Washington, which backs the existing plan to move the base to Camp Schwab's coastal area, is apparently concerned about the opposition to the new plan from relevant Japanese municipalities and a possible drawback in Marines operations in Japan.
(2010/04/15-14:13)
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