December 23, 2009U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's demand that Japan implement the existing plan to relocate U.S. Futenma base has raised questions about Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's claim that Washington expressed understanding of Japan's postponement of a final decision on the issue.
Clinton made the demand when she met with Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Ichiro Fujisaki at the Department of State on Monday.
As the prospects for forming a consensus within the tripartite ruling coalition remain uncertain, the issue of relocating U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture has become the Achilles' heel for the Hatoyama administration.
"The United States has consistently claimed that Japan-U.S. agreement on the issue is important. I guess that's what they talked about," Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said at a news conference on Tuesday regarding the ambassador's meet with Clinton.
"We had anticipated that we might receive such a request," he emphasized. "The matter needs due attention since it hasn't been settled yet."
Hatoyama on Tuesday toned down his earlier statement on U.S. "understanding," saying, "I meant that the U.S. expressed understanding that the Japan-U.S. alliance is important."
These remarks made by Hatoyama and Okada have demonstrated that the government has been puzzled by Clinton's reaction to Tokyo's decision.
Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa stressed that the three coalition partners -- the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the People's New Party (PNP) -- have agreed to make a final decision on the relocation by May. "We've set the deadline for May. All three partners have agreed on the schedule."
Furthermore, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano has announced that the three coalition partners will set up a working group to select the relocation site.
However, SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima, who serves as state minister for consumer affairs and gender equality, pointed out that opinion polls have shown that a majority of the people oppose the current plan to relocate Futenma base to the waters off Camp Schwab in the Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture. She then vowed to ensure that the base will be relocated out of the prefecture and out of the country, as her party insists.
A recent Mainichi poll shows that 51 percent of the respondents answered that Tokyo should seek the relocation out of Okinawa and out of Japan during negotiations with Washington.
If the government agrees to go ahead with the current plan, it could adversely affect the approval rating for the Hatoyama Cabinet.
On the other hand, the United States is highly unlikely to accept relocation out of the prefecture and out of the country.
The DPJ-led government is increasingly torn between conflicting demands from the United States and the SDP. (By Nakae Ueno, Political News Department)
(Mainichi Japan) December 23, 2009
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