July 29, 2010
Tokyo, July 29 (Jiji Press) -- The Japanese government has postponed making a final decision on the relocation of a key U.S. base in Okinawa Prefecture until after the prefecture's gubernatorial election on Nov. 28.
The government now finds it better to wait for the result of the election, which is believed to focus on the controversial Japan-U.S. agreement to relocate the Marine Corps' Funtema air station in Ginowan within the southern prefecture, informed sources said.
As a result, the base issue will not be resolved fully before U.S. President Barack Obama visits Japan in November.
Also according to the sources, Washington gave the nod to Tokyo's proposal at meetings Monday and Tuesday that Japanese and U.S. experts will present multiple options on the exact location and method to build a Futenma replacement facility.
If details of the Futenma relocation are fixed only by the governments of the two countries, the people in Okinawa, already angry about the Japan-U.S. agreement being made without their consent, will certainly take a tougher line, the sources explained.
(2010/07/29-12:42)
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