Apr 14 01:35 PM US/Eastern
TOKYO, April 15 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Washington has effectively rejected Japan's proposals to relocate a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa Prefecture to an island in Kagoshima Prefecture or an artificial island to be constructed in Okinawa, Japanese-U.S. diplomatic sources said Wednesday, dashing Tokyo's hopes of settling the matter by May.
The rejection of the proposals to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station to Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, north of Okinawa, or a man-made island off the Katsuren Peninsula in Okinawa will likely increase pressure on Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to step down, as he has repeatedly promised to resolve the base relocation dispute by the end of May.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos conveyed Washington's rejection when he met with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on Friday. Saying it would be "extremely difficult" for the United States to accept the latest relocation proposals, Roos explained that Washington prefers the existing deal to transfer the base to a coastal area of the Marines' Camp Schwab in Nago, Okinawa, or a modified version of it, the sources said.
Washington maintains Tokyo must first resolve the sticking points and reach an agreement with the municipalities that would host the facility before making any proposals to the United States.
With the rejection, it has become increasingly likely that the Futemma airfield, located in a crowded residential area in Okinawa, will continue to be used for an extended period of time as it would take around 10 years to construct replacement facilities.
Okada presented to Roos on March 26 proposals to first build a heliport in an inland part of Camp Schwab, which would temporarily accommodate part of the Futemma Marines, before relocating the full Futemma unit to either Tokunoshima or an island to be reclaimed off Katsuren.
However, Hatoyama told a meeting of Cabinet ministers concerned with the relocation issue on April 2 that he wanted to "pursue (the) Tokunoshima (option) at any cost," giving the impression to Washington that the prime minister and the foreign minister were not coordinating their views.
Washington believes there is no guarantee that any local Japanese municipality, which would be affected by Tokyo's relocation proposals, would accept them, the sources said.
While the United States has maintained that the Marines' heliport, ground troops and training field currently located in Okinawa must continue to be managed in an integrated manner, it has seen no signs of the Japanese government seriously considering it, they said.
Under the accord reached by Japan and the United States in 2006, the Futemma facility would be returned to Japan in exchange for transferring its heliport functions by 2014 to an area that would be reclaimed on the coast of Camp Schwab.
The relocation accord is part of a broader agreement between the two countries to realign U.S. forces in Japan and is linked to a plan to transfer around 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam.
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