May 28 11:41 AM US/Eastern
TOKYO, May 29 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama forcefully settled the contentious issue of where to relocate a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa on Friday by his self-imposed end-of-May deadline with the dismissal of a Cabinet member opposed to the plan, putting his three-way coalition government in danger of collapsing.
Hatoyama reached a new deal with the United States to move the key U.S. base within Okinawa and his government adopted a policy in line with the bilateral accord after the sacking of Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, who refused to swallow the relocation plan that would leave Okinawa shouldering the bulk of the U.S. presence.
The prime minister apologized at a press conference for his failure to fulfill his promise to move the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station out of Okinawa and pledged to continue working toward the complete settlement of the matter by gaining approval from Okinawa residents.
"It is my duty to try to resolve this base issue," Hatoyama said. The prime minister also said he felt "overwhelmed with shame" for having to sack Fukushima over the base issue and that he would continue to seek the SDP's understanding over the matter, urging the party not to leave the coalition government.
The SDP, however, indicated in a statement that it could quit the three-party coalition led by Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan.
Even though the prime minister has said he would stake his job on settling the issue, he did not indicate any intention of stepping down, saying he will "make utmost efforts to win public understanding for the ruling parties' stance" during the upcoming House of Councillors election expected to be held in July.
After spending eight months reviewing a 2006 Japan-U.S. accord on the transfer of Futenma, which sets 2014 as the deadline for the relocation, Hatoyama decided to reach a new deal with the United States that is almost the same as the existing pact.
The two countries agreed to ensure that ongoing environmental impact assessment procedures and the construction of a replacement facility will be "completed without significant delay."
The premier confirmed at the news conference that his government will try to meet the 2014 deadline for the Futema relocation.
The pact includes steps to ease the burden on Okinawans from hosting bases, with Hatoyama describing it as "the first small step" toward improving the situation. The bilateral accord has sparked fierce opposition from Okinawans, with Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine refusing to engage in future negotiations on the relocation of the base to his city.
The new accord says the heliport functions of the Futenma airstrip located in a crowded residential area of Ginowan are to be transferred to the less densely populated Henoko district at the Marines' Camp Schwab in Nago by 2014.
The two countries newly agreed that experts will study the replacement facility's location, configuration and construction method by the end of August and that their foreign and defense ministers will verify and validate their conclusions in their next meeting.
Hatoyama said the next ministerial talks will be held by the time of U.S. President Barack Obama's expected visit to Japan in November. Earlier in the day, the prime minister agreed with Obama during a teleconference to push ahead with the transfer of the Futenma airfield.
The premier stressed that maintaining confidence in Japan-U.S. relations would serve as a major deterrent in East Asia, where uncertainties in security conditions remain. He referred to the fatal sinking of a South Korean warship in March, which is believed to have been caused by North Korea.
The new accord reaffirmed that the replacement facility will be located "at the Camp Schwab Henoko-saki (Cape Henoko) area and adjacent waters, with the runway portion(s) of the facility to be 1,800 meters long, inclusive of overruns, exclusive of seawalls."
The original 2006 accord stipulated that two runways in a V-shaped configuration would be built on land to be reclaimed by filling the sea near Camp Schwab at Cape Henoko and the plan has already been subject to nearly three years of environmental assessment.
The new accord also confirmed that 8,000 Marines in Okinawa and their 9,000 dependents will be transferred to Guam by 2014 and that the personnel move is "dependent on tangible progress toward the completion of the replacement facility."
To reduce the heavy U.S. military presence in Okinawa, the new Japan- U.S. agreement said more drills by U.S. forces will be transferred out of the prefecture. It named Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan's Self-Defense Forces bases in mainland Japan and the U.S. territory of Guam as possible candidate sites.
The two countries also said they will consider expanding the shared use of facilities between the U.S. military and the SDF. The joint use of the Futenma relocation facility in Nago will also be studied, a Japanese official said.
To meet requests from Okinawa, where 75 percent of the land used by the U.S. military in Japan is located, the two countries agreed to consider access to U.S. facilities for environmental surveys prior to the return of land to locals and the introduction of renewable energy technology into U.S. bases under a "Green Alliance" approach.
They also decided to partially lift restrictions on the civilian use of a U.S. military training area in waters east of Okinawa's main island, enabling local fishermen to operate there.
The two countries reaffirmed their commitment to further reducing noise at the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa by transferring more drills out of the prefecture.
In connection with the planned Marine transfer to Guam, Washington indicated in the joint statement the possibility of further reviewing the unit composition of Marines remaining in Okinawa.
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