Dec 28 08:59 AM US/EasternTOKYO, Dec. 28 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Japan's three ruling parties agreed Monday to make maximum efforts to reach a decision by May on where a U.S. Marines base in Okinawa Prefecture should be transferred by examining various relocation sites regardless of whether they are in Japan or abroad.
At the first meeting of a three-party working-level consultation body, the Democratic Party of Japan and its two junior partners -- the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party -- agreed to frame their basic thoughts on the relocation in about a month, according to Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kinya Takino.
The SDP had been opposed to setting any deadline on the stalled issue, but the tiny party agreed with its two partners to make "utmost efforts" with a view to reaching a decision by May, Takino told reporters after the meeting held at the premier's office.
Members of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Cabinet have suggested that the issue should see a conclusion by May, after parliament clears a fiscal 2010 budget proposal.
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada conveyed the government's plan to U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton during their telephone talks last week, effectively making it a pledge to Washington.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Hatoyama said that the government would aim not just to come to a conclusion among the three parties but also reach an agreement with the United States by May.
The Japanese leader made the remarks in the Indian capital, which he is visiting to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh after meeting with business leaders in Mumbai.
"The ruling parties will make no decision that does not take into consideration U.S. intentions," Hatoyama said.
But Washington has pressed Japan to stick to a 2006 agreement between Tokyo and Washington to move the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station, which currently sits in a residential area in Ginowan, to a less densely populated area in Nago, another Okinawa city, to reduce the burden on people in Okinawa.
Hatoyama also said he would examine "every possibility" based on discussions by the body and that any decision by the body must be respected.
As for a relocation site, Takino said that the parties would choose a location without conditions.
Prior to the start of the meeting, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said that Guam remains a possible relocation site for the Futemma air station in the southernmost prefecture.
Hirano, who leads the consultation body, made the comments at a regular press conference after Hatoyama over the weekend called into question the feasibility of a transfer to the U.S. territory from a deterrence standpoint.
"I have no intention of ruling out the possibility (of relocating the Futemma facility to Guam) from the outset of our consultations," Hirano said, stressing the issue needs to be discussed in terms of maintaining the U.S. deterrence in the region.
During a recording for a radio program Saturday, Hatoyama said, "I don't think it is possible to transfer all the functions at Futemma to Guam in terms of deterrence."
But the Japanese leader said Sunday that Guam is "one idea," slightly changing his stance, apparently out of consideration for the SDP, which has pushed for the Guam plan.
The 2006 deal is part of a broader agreement on the realignment of U.S. military forces in Japan, including the transfer of 8,000 Marines stationed in the prefecture to Guam.
Hirano said that the government will also proceed with negotiations with Washington in tandem with the three-party consultations, and that either he himself or Okada will serve as the primary contact with U.S. negotiators to avoid confusion.
Before May, members of the body will meet every seven to 10 days, Takino said, while denying that any member would visit the United States anytime soon for negotiations on the matter.
The members include Senior Vice Foreign Minister Koichi Takemasa and Senior Vice Defense Minister Kazuya Shimba, as well as Tomoko Abe and Mikio Shimoji, who are the policy chiefs of the SDP and PNP respectively.
Shimoji told reporters after the meeting that Hirano asked the members to come up with "a feasible plan" and dismissed the plan advocated by the SDP of moving the facility to Iwoto Island, otherwise known as Iwojima.
Also on Monday, DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa, who is believed by some to have a controlling influence in the running of the government, expressed a cautious view over transferring the Futemma facility under the 2006 deal, citing local sentiment in Okinawa Prefecture.
Muneo Suzuki, head of the New Party Daichi and chairman of the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee, quoted Ozawa as saying to him, "I will see what decision the prime minister's office will make, but the voices of people in Okinawa must be respected. Those blue waters should not be polluted."
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