Aug 1 07:27 AM US/Eastern
(AP) - TOKYO, Aug. 1 (Kyodo) — A Japan-U.S. working-level group of experts drafted two options for the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station to the Henoko district at the Marines' Camp Schwab in Nago, government sources said Sunday.
Both plans aim to achieve the task by reclaiming waters off the coast of Henoko but one calls for two runways in a V-shaped formation while the other envisages the building of a single runway, estimated to reduce the reclaimed area by 25 percent, according to the sources.
By putting forward two plans, the Japanese government hopes to win over Okinawans who might deem the latter option preferable and mollify local citizens opposed to keeping the Futenma facility within the prefecture.
The government is now trying to work out how to transfer the heliport functions of the Futenma airstrip located in a crowded residential area of Ginowan to the less densely populated Henoko district at the Marines' Camp Schwab in Nago by 2014 in line with an accord reached with the United States in May.
According to the agreement, the two nations' experts are to complete the study about the specifics on building a replacement facility for Futenma by the end of August.
But with the Nago city assembly election scheduled for September and the Okinawa gubernatorial poll for November, the government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan decided not to reach a settlement with the United States on the runway construction method in Henoko before the Nov. 28 gubernatorial balloting. Tokyo's stance in principle has been approved by Washington.
The Okinawa governor has the authority to give permission for reclamation of the coastal water area. If Okinawa's opposition against the relocation plans remains strong after the elections, however, Kan will likely find himself in the same plight that brought down his predecessor Yukio Hatoyama's government.
The V-shaped runways would take up an area of 205 hectares, requiring reclamation of 160 hectares, and would avoid helicopter flights over land. The plan is supported by the mainstream officials of Washington, especially the U.S. Department of Defense, because it is believed to provide superior operability in a time of emergency.
The project to build a single runway, an idea floated by Japan, in contrast, would measure 150 hectares in area and land to be created with landfill would total 120 hectares. Japan argues that it would be less harmful to the environment but would entail flights over a nearby golf course and hotels.
It envisions joint use of a 20-hectare or so area of Henoko-zaki (Cape Henoko) by the U.S. Marines and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.
The report by the working group is expected to cite both the advantages and disadvantages of both plans.
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