Futenma Move Is Govt Accord, Not Parties': U.S. Spokesman

Washington, Oct. 14 (Jiji Press)--A Pentagon spokesman suggested Wednesday that the relocation of a U.S. Marine Corps airfield in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture should be implemented in line with a 2006 bilateral agreement, saying the accord was reached between the "two governments, not political parties."

U.S. Department of Defense Press Secretary Geoff Morrel made the
comments at a press conference where he announced that U.S. Defense
Secretary Robert Gates will visit Japan on Oct. 20-21.
During the visit, Gates will hold talks with Japanese government
leaders, including Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Defense Minister Toshimi
Kitazawa and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada.
Morrell said that the Futenma relocation issue and Japan's fueling
mission in the Indian Ocean in support of U.S. antiterrorism operations in
Afghanistan "will be subjects of discussion" in the coming meetings.
The visit will be "an opportunity to reiterate our strong
commitment to this (the Japan-U.S.) alliance, and also to the agreements
that have been reached between our two governments--not political parties,
but between our two governments," Morrel also said.
"So we are obviously committed to carrying them out as agreed
upon," he said.
Morrell said that "we obviously want to work with the new
government to make sure they have all the information they need to better
understand what has been agreed to by previous governments."
As part of a broader agreement in 2006 on the realignment of U.S.
forces in Japan, the two countries agreed to move the heliport functions of
the U.S. Marine Corps.' Futenma air station from Ginowan, Okinawa,
southernmost Japan, to a less congested area in Nago, also Okinawa. The
Japanese government was then led by the Liberal Democratic Party.
Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan, which ousted the LDP
following a landslide election victory in August, and its coalition partners
have agreed to review the Futenma relocation plan. But the Hatoyama
government is leading toward accepting the existing plan.
Gates will be the first U.S. cabinet member to visit Japan since
the change of government in Japan.
Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima has called for the runway of the
new base in Nago to be built offshore, compared with the existing plan to
built it in a coastal area of Camp Schwab, another Marine Corps base in
Nago.
Regarding the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force's refueling
mission in the Indian Ocean, Japan is likely to suspend the operation at
least temporarily when the legal mandate for the mission expires on Jan. 15.
As Japan's withdrawal would be a blow to U.S. President Barack
Obama, who puts priority on the antiterror operations in Afghanistan, Gates
is expected to urge Japanese officials to work out an alternative way of
contribution.
After the Japan visit, Gates will travel to South Korea to hold
talks with his counterpart, Kim Tae Young, on North Korean issues including
the recent short-range missiles by the reclusive state.