Hatoyama: Futenma base cannot stay where it is

Hatoyama: Futenma base cannot stay where it is

2010/02/03 20:14(JST)
NHK Online

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has stressed that he will not change his policy to move the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station to another location. He said it would be best to avoid limiting the location of the base to Futenma into the future.

Hatoyama made the comments at an Upper House plenary session on Wednesday. Earlier, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada made a remark about the possibility of the base remaining where it is, if no relocation site is found.

An Upper House member from the smaller ruling Social Democratic Party said Okada's remark does nothing but trifle with the feelings of Okinawan people suffering from the location of the US bases for a long time.

Hatoyama said that the idea for the relocation of the air station came about as a way to remove the dangers of having the base located in the densely populated area it is in now.

The prime minister reiterated that the government's task force is determined and working hard to find a new site for the base.