ID :
81901
Sun, 09/27/2009 - 00:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/81901
The shortlink copeid
Defense chief to probe how Futemma relocation accord was reached+
NAHA, Japan, Sept. 26 Kyodo - Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said Saturday after inspecting U.S. military facilities in Okinawa that he will study how a Japan-U.S. accord was reached in 2006 to move the Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Ginowan to a less densely populated area in Nago in the prefecture.
''I don't understand why that area was chosen (as the relocation site) and why
the two countries agreed to build V-shaped runways,'' Kitazawa told a news
conference in Naha, referring to the Marines' Camp Schwab, where the heliport
functions of the Futemma facility are scheduled to be transferred by 2014 under
the accord.
''We'd like to verify what has not been clarified (in past Japan-U.S.
negotiations) and study whether there are alternative options,'' the minister
said.
The defense chief indicated that he will order a probe early next week into the
developments that led to the relocation accord. Earlier in the day, he visited
both the Futemma air station and Camp Schwab.
Japan's new government led by Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama
has pledged to move the air station out of the southernmost prefecture to
lessen the burden on local residents. But that position runs counter to the
2006 Japan-U.S. accord.
Kitazawa admitted at the press conference that it would be ''very difficult''
to explore alternative options when projects related to the relocation are
already under way.
The minister appeared to dismiss a proposal from local residents that the
Futemma facility be integrated into the Kadena Air Base, another U.S. military
facility in Okinawa, saying it would be ''extremely difficult to impose an
additional burden on the town of Kadena, whose land is mostly used for the U.S.
military base.''
Kitazawa, the first minister of the new government to visit Okinawa, met with
Nago Mayor Yoshikazu Shimabukuro earlier in the day. Following the meeting,
Kitazawa said he will hold urgent discussions on how to deal with the Futemma
transfer with Hatoyama and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada to work out an
approach.
In his meeting with the Nago mayor, Kitazawa expressed appreciation for
Shimabukuro's efforts to meet residents' needs and promote the local economy.
The mayor said he basically accepts the relocation, but asked the minister for
the V-shaped runways be built further offshore than planned.
Some local residents are calling for the runways to be constructed offshore,
citing safety and noise concerns that could arise in the future.
==Kyodo
2009-09-26 23:29:30
''I don't understand why that area was chosen (as the relocation site) and why
the two countries agreed to build V-shaped runways,'' Kitazawa told a news
conference in Naha, referring to the Marines' Camp Schwab, where the heliport
functions of the Futemma facility are scheduled to be transferred by 2014 under
the accord.
''We'd like to verify what has not been clarified (in past Japan-U.S.
negotiations) and study whether there are alternative options,'' the minister
said.
The defense chief indicated that he will order a probe early next week into the
developments that led to the relocation accord. Earlier in the day, he visited
both the Futemma air station and Camp Schwab.
Japan's new government led by Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama
has pledged to move the air station out of the southernmost prefecture to
lessen the burden on local residents. But that position runs counter to the
2006 Japan-U.S. accord.
Kitazawa admitted at the press conference that it would be ''very difficult''
to explore alternative options when projects related to the relocation are
already under way.
The minister appeared to dismiss a proposal from local residents that the
Futemma facility be integrated into the Kadena Air Base, another U.S. military
facility in Okinawa, saying it would be ''extremely difficult to impose an
additional burden on the town of Kadena, whose land is mostly used for the U.S.
military base.''
Kitazawa, the first minister of the new government to visit Okinawa, met with
Nago Mayor Yoshikazu Shimabukuro earlier in the day. Following the meeting,
Kitazawa said he will hold urgent discussions on how to deal with the Futemma
transfer with Hatoyama and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada to work out an
approach.
In his meeting with the Nago mayor, Kitazawa expressed appreciation for
Shimabukuro's efforts to meet residents' needs and promote the local economy.
The mayor said he basically accepts the relocation, but asked the minister for
the V-shaped runways be built further offshore than planned.
Some local residents are calling for the runways to be constructed offshore,
citing safety and noise concerns that could arise in the future.
==Kyodo
2009-09-26 23:29:30
