TOKYO, April 3 KyodoJapan and the United States are discussing transferring the U.S. Marine Corps' helicopter unit to the U.S. Iejima Auxiliary Air Field in Okinawa Prefecture from Futemma Air Station, senior Japanese officials said Saturday.
The two governments are also considering having the Japanese Self-Defense Forces take over control of Futemma and dispersing other functions of the Futemma base to other facilities, but allowing U.S. forces to use Futemma to gather supplies in an emergency, the Japanese government and ruling coalition officials said.
The "dispersive" relocation plan being discussed as an alternative to the stalled relocation plan for Futemma includes transferring the midair refueling unit to either the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Kanoya Base in Kagoshima Prefecture or the Air Self-Defense Force's Nyutabaru Air Base in Miyazaki Prefecture.
Observers say the two sides agreeing on the new proposal would lead to an overhaul of the original plan to relocate Futemma's heliport functions to Nago, also in Okinawa Prefecture.
Transferring the helicopter unit would fulfill the Japanese government's hope of removing safety concerns posed by Futemma, located in the center of a residential downtown area, while maintaining U.S. deterrence in the region, the officials said.
But negotiations on moving the helicopter unit to the base on Iejima Island, about 9 kilometers northwest of the main Okinawa Island, are likely to face a rugged path due to water supply problems and past friction between the U.S. forces and local residents there.
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Japan and the United States agreed in 1996 that the U.S. military would vacate the Futemma base in five to seven years on the condition that its heliport functions were relocated within the prefecture.
The Henoko area in Nago was chosen in 1999 as the site for the replacement facility, but construction of the envisioned military-civilian airport has not even begun amid strong opposition from local residents.
The government has begun drilling assessments at the site, but the replacement facility is expected to take more than 10 years to complete.
Back in 1996, Iejima was not considered one of the candidate sites for the Futemma relocation given its distance from the main Okinawa island, poor water supply and the history of friction between residents and the U.S. military, which seized their land after Japan lost World War II.
But in light of the crash of a U.S. military helicopter at a Japanese university campus adjacent to Futemma last August, the two governments now place the highest priority on eliminating the safety problem at Futemma.
Japan and the United States agreed in February at a top-level security meeting to accelerate talks to realize the relocation.
Iejima, which has a 2,000-meter runway operated by the U.S. military, therefore became a candidate site, the officials said. The 8-square-kilometer U.S. air field occupies 35 percent of the island.
Other alternatives that had reportedly been considered include relocating the Marines' helicopters to the U.S. Kadena Air Base or Shimoji Island, both in Okinawa Prefecture.
But there are concerns that the local economy will suffer after the United States hands Futemma back, such as the loss of income for land owners and employees at the base.
The government hopes to solve these problems by having the SDF take over control of the base after U.S. troops' functions are relocated.
Critics say, however, that since Washington is negative on removing the Marines from Japan, the Futemma issue may be further prolonged if the Iejima proposal goes unrealized.
"Transferring the helicopter unit (to Iejima) will be an enormous hurdle politically," a senior Defense Agency official said on condition of anonymity, referring to local residents' anger over recent incidents of falling objects from parachute drills by U.S. troops on the island.
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