Hatoyama hints at possible change of stance on Futemma relocation

TOKYO, Oct. 7 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama hinted Wednesday that the government could shift
its stance on the issue of relocating a U.S. military facility in Okinawa and
accept the existing Japan-U.S. bilateral accord stating that the facility be
moved within the prefecture.
''What we stated in our manifesto is certainly one promise we have made, and I
still don't think we should change that so easily,'' Hatoyama, who heads the
ruling Democratic Party of Japan, told reporters in the evening, but added, ''I
would not deny the possibility that it could change in terms of time.''
In the DPJ's election manifesto, the party pledged to ''move in the direction
of reexamining the realignment of U.S. military forces in Japan and the role of
U.S. military bases in Japan,'' referring to a 2006 Japan-U.S. accord in which
the two countries agreed to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station
in Ginowan, Okinawa, to another city in the prefecture.
In a related move, the mayor of Ginowan urged the Hatoyama administration
earlier in the day to realize the early closure of the facility and its return
to the city.
Mayor Yoichi Iha met separately with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yorihisa
Matsuno and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and handed them written requests
to settle the relocation issue soon, saying local people have long been
tormented by noise pollution and the fear of accidents.
''Thirteen years have passed since a Japan-U.S. agreement on the return of the
Futemma facility and five years since a (U.S. military) helicopter crash'' at
Okinawa International University, Iha told Kitazawa. ''Under the new
government, we'd like to see the settlement of this issue as soon as
possible.''
Kitazawa said the new government will strive to work out a solution so that
''the significance of the change of government will be felt widely.'' But he
stopped short of explaining to the mayor specific approaches on the matter,
according to Iha.
Tokyo and Washington agreed in 1996 to return the Futemma base site, located in
a crowded residential area, to Japan in five to seven years.
In August 2004, a CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter of the U.S. Marines crashed
into the campus of the university in Ginowan. The campus is located adjacent to
the Futemma air station.
The crash damaged the walls of the main university building and injured three
crew members, but no one on the ground was hurt.
The mayor said U.S. military helicopters and aircraft fly over schools in
Ginowan and the city government building almost every day and urged the new
government to indicate the direction of its Futemma policy by year-end or early
next year.
Iha expects U.S. President Barack Obama's planned visit to Japan in November to
help move forward Japan-U.S. talks on the relocation issue.
The mayor said in the written request that the heliport functions of the
Futemma air station should be transferred outside Okinawa or even outside
Japan. His position is basically in line with what Hatoyama has said
previously.
A Futemma relocation outside of the prefecture would go against the 2006
Japan-U.S. accord on the plan, in which the two countries agreed to move the
air station to a less densely populated area in Nago, northern Okinawa, by
2014.
Moreover, transferring Futemma's heliport functions is closely tied to another
key element of the 2006 agreement -- moving 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam.
Iha pointed out the accord does not necessarily suggest that Marines will not
move to Guam unless the relocation site is completed in Nago, and asked both
the Japanese and U.S. governments to handle the two matters separately.
''The city of Ginowan is hoping that the removal of the dangers posed by the
Futemma facility will take priority. The return of the air station is long
overdue because of the relocation issue, and we are not sure whether the
transfer will be completed by 2014,'' he said.
''We want to see Marines transferred to Guam regardless of the relocation
issue,'' the mayor added.
==Kyodo