U.S. Department of Defense requests $427 million for Okinawa relocation
February 2, 2010
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Defense is requesting that $427 million, or approximately 38.4 billion yen, be allocated from the fiscal 2011 federal budget draft to finance the relocation of about 8,000 U.S. Marines stationed in Okinawa to Guam.
The announcement came along with the allocation of $159.3 billion (about 14.3 trillion yen) to fund overseas war expenses. In total, the Pentagon will demand $192.3 billion (about 17.3 trillion yen) for war expenses, including $33 billion from the fiscal 2010 supplementary budget to cover the additional deployment of troops to Afghanistan.
The $427 million is intended to cover the construction of additional facilities at Andersen Air Force Base, and reinforce the pier of Apra Harbor in Guam to accommodate the relocation of the troops from Okinawa Prefecture.
However, congressmen will likely demand that the allocation be deleted from the budget draft if Tokyo further delays a decision on the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa beyond May, or makes a proposal unacceptable to Washington.
The administration of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has pledged to make a final decision on the Futenma relocation in the Okinawa Prefecture city of Ginowan by the end of May. The previous Liberal Democratic Party-led administration had agreed with the United States that the base would be moved to an area off Camp Schwab in the prefecture city of Nago.
In the meantime, the total budgetary allocation that the Pentagon is set to demand for fiscal 2011, excluding war expenses, came to $548.9 billion, or approximately 49.4 trillion yen, up 3.4 percent from the current fiscal year.
(Mainichi Japan) February 2, 2010
Showing posts with label Guam. Okinawa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guam. Okinawa. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
GovGuam helps students comment on DEIS
GovGuam helps students comment on DEIS
Posted: Jan 31, 2010 1:22 PM
Updated: Jan 31, 2010 2:58 PM
by Michele Catahay
Guam - While residents from various local groups have been reviewing the draft environmental impact statement for the marine relocation from Okinawa to Guam, concerns have been raised on whether the island's schoolchildren know much about the move. The Governor's Office is spearheading efforts to get the youth involved in reviewing the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and providing written comments.
Bureau of Statistics & Plans Director Tony Lamorena says his agency, along with Adelup, will be spearheading efforts to engage the island's high school students in going over the Draft EIS. Lamorena says students need to be involved because in four years, these individuals are going to be a part of the workforce.
"We want them to be a part of the process. We want to hear their comments, what their issues are and what their concerns are. What we're doing is on February the 5, we're hosting an event. We're working with the Department of Education and all the private schools to identify because of space availability, a number of students at their respective schools," he said.
Lamorena says they will be discussing topics ranging from natural resources and the environment as well as social economic issues relating to the buildup. He says the key is to get their input so they could submit the comments on paper. On February 8-10, he says local officials will be out in the schools to teach students about the DEIS.
"We're getting a lot of adults and a lot of University of Guam students attending at the other events within the villages and the Legislature, but no one has really focused on specifically going out into the high schools. So what we're doing right now is we're making an active effort to go after the high school students and getting their comments," Lamorena noted.
Because it's such a massive document, Lamorena says agency heads and subject experts will be on hand to start the dialogue with students to generate interest. "We're going to make it as user friendly as we can. We don't want them to be intimidated by the document. Really, we want their comments to be noted so that the department of defense has to respond to their concerns," he said.
Posted: Jan 31, 2010 1:22 PM
Updated: Jan 31, 2010 2:58 PM
by Michele Catahay
Guam - While residents from various local groups have been reviewing the draft environmental impact statement for the marine relocation from Okinawa to Guam, concerns have been raised on whether the island's schoolchildren know much about the move. The Governor's Office is spearheading efforts to get the youth involved in reviewing the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and providing written comments.
Bureau of Statistics & Plans Director Tony Lamorena says his agency, along with Adelup, will be spearheading efforts to engage the island's high school students in going over the Draft EIS. Lamorena says students need to be involved because in four years, these individuals are going to be a part of the workforce.
"We want them to be a part of the process. We want to hear their comments, what their issues are and what their concerns are. What we're doing is on February the 5, we're hosting an event. We're working with the Department of Education and all the private schools to identify because of space availability, a number of students at their respective schools," he said.
Lamorena says they will be discussing topics ranging from natural resources and the environment as well as social economic issues relating to the buildup. He says the key is to get their input so they could submit the comments on paper. On February 8-10, he says local officials will be out in the schools to teach students about the DEIS.
"We're getting a lot of adults and a lot of University of Guam students attending at the other events within the villages and the Legislature, but no one has really focused on specifically going out into the high schools. So what we're doing right now is we're making an active effort to go after the high school students and getting their comments," Lamorena noted.
Because it's such a massive document, Lamorena says agency heads and subject experts will be on hand to start the dialogue with students to generate interest. "We're going to make it as user friendly as we can. We don't want them to be intimidated by the document. Really, we want their comments to be noted so that the department of defense has to respond to their concerns," he said.
Cruz critical of Bordallo's role in buildup
Cruz critical of Bordallo's role in buildup
Posted: Jan 30, 2010 6:15 PM
by Michele Catahay
Guam - Things heated up during a town hall meeting hosted by Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo this morning. Vice-Speaker B.J. Cruz questioned Bordallo's role in fighting for the people as it pertains to the military buildup.
Cruz says he isn't quite satisfied with the way Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo has been handling the issues pertaining to the movement of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam. During the hearing today, Cruz suggested to Bordallo to go back to the federal government to find out if the Draft environmental Impact Statement could be revised and resubmitted before it becomes a permanent document.
He said, "I said that since this DEIS is much larger than the original scope that was originally discussed, and I think it's fair. And I asked her if she could spearhead the move to ask the Secretary of Defense to change the NEPA process that is currently being discussed and take this as an initial Draft EIS, have them revise it and resubmit it to us again as a draft."
Cruz says he remains critical of Bordallo, saying not enough has been done on her part to protect the island's coral reefs. Bordallo is the chairperson of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs and Oceans and Wildlife. Cruz says he finds it disheartening that Bordallo received an award for the protection of the reefs and corals last year, but isn't speaking out against the dredging in Apra Harbor.
"Her silence in not speaking out against the fact they were going to dredge out 39 acres of coral in Apra Harbor was deafening," he continued. "And in being literate and polite, I said it was deafening and when pointing and trying to find the next word, she said 'unconscionable', and that probably is the best word."
Bordallo is on Guam hosting her own town hall meetings to gather input from stakeholders on the relocation. She says she will be submitting her own comments to the Joint Guam Program Office. Although there are many issues in line with the buildup, Bordallo says one thing for sure is that she does not support the use of eminent domain to acquire property for the military.
Said the delegate, "If a private landowner wants to lease or sell their property, that is their right because it's their property and if they choose not to, that is also their right, and I will not support the military using eminent domain to acquire the property if the landowner is opposed to doing so."
As for the use of government lands, Bordallo says the governor and Legislature are the only ones who can decide whether to lease or sell government property.
In the meantime, Barrigada resident Juan Unpingco says he has been living on Guam all his life and would hate to see his family's land be taken away by the military, saying, "I'm in support of the military buildup, provided there is no land condemnation. I'm in favor of rescinding land of equitable value of leasing property to meet the needs of the military buildup."
Dededo resident Janet Aguon says it's unfair how Guam has no say in this buildup. She says although she fought for the county in two wars, Aguon believes the buildup is not in the best interest of the people of Guam. "I'm truly sick and tired of the United States of America and the Department of Defense treating the people of Guam as if they were trash. So my message to President (Barack) Obama, the DoD, the Secretary of the Navy: take the military and put them in your own country and not on our tiny little island."
Two more hearings are scheduled tomorrow. One will be held at the Agat Community Center from 2-4pm. The other will be held at the Our Lady of Assumption Church Social Hall in Piti from 5-7pm.
Posted: Jan 30, 2010 6:15 PM
by Michele Catahay
Guam - Things heated up during a town hall meeting hosted by Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo this morning. Vice-Speaker B.J. Cruz questioned Bordallo's role in fighting for the people as it pertains to the military buildup.
Cruz says he isn't quite satisfied with the way Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo has been handling the issues pertaining to the movement of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam. During the hearing today, Cruz suggested to Bordallo to go back to the federal government to find out if the Draft environmental Impact Statement could be revised and resubmitted before it becomes a permanent document.
He said, "I said that since this DEIS is much larger than the original scope that was originally discussed, and I think it's fair. And I asked her if she could spearhead the move to ask the Secretary of Defense to change the NEPA process that is currently being discussed and take this as an initial Draft EIS, have them revise it and resubmit it to us again as a draft."
Cruz says he remains critical of Bordallo, saying not enough has been done on her part to protect the island's coral reefs. Bordallo is the chairperson of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs and Oceans and Wildlife. Cruz says he finds it disheartening that Bordallo received an award for the protection of the reefs and corals last year, but isn't speaking out against the dredging in Apra Harbor.
"Her silence in not speaking out against the fact they were going to dredge out 39 acres of coral in Apra Harbor was deafening," he continued. "And in being literate and polite, I said it was deafening and when pointing and trying to find the next word, she said 'unconscionable', and that probably is the best word."
Bordallo is on Guam hosting her own town hall meetings to gather input from stakeholders on the relocation. She says she will be submitting her own comments to the Joint Guam Program Office. Although there are many issues in line with the buildup, Bordallo says one thing for sure is that she does not support the use of eminent domain to acquire property for the military.
Said the delegate, "If a private landowner wants to lease or sell their property, that is their right because it's their property and if they choose not to, that is also their right, and I will not support the military using eminent domain to acquire the property if the landowner is opposed to doing so."
As for the use of government lands, Bordallo says the governor and Legislature are the only ones who can decide whether to lease or sell government property.
In the meantime, Barrigada resident Juan Unpingco says he has been living on Guam all his life and would hate to see his family's land be taken away by the military, saying, "I'm in support of the military buildup, provided there is no land condemnation. I'm in favor of rescinding land of equitable value of leasing property to meet the needs of the military buildup."
Dededo resident Janet Aguon says it's unfair how Guam has no say in this buildup. She says although she fought for the county in two wars, Aguon believes the buildup is not in the best interest of the people of Guam. "I'm truly sick and tired of the United States of America and the Department of Defense treating the people of Guam as if they were trash. So my message to President (Barack) Obama, the DoD, the Secretary of the Navy: take the military and put them in your own country and not on our tiny little island."
Two more hearings are scheduled tomorrow. One will be held at the Agat Community Center from 2-4pm. The other will be held at the Our Lady of Assumption Church Social Hall in Piti from 5-7pm.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Guthertz wants Marines moved over 8 years
Guthertz wants Marines moved over 8 years
Posted: Jan 28, 2010 10:52 AM
Updated: Jan 28, 2010 10:52 AM
by Nick Delgado
Guam - Senator Judith Guthertz made recommendations to stretch out the time period and minimize the number of Marines slated to relocate from Okinawa to Guam. While the senator points out that the military's current footprint shows more than 40,000 military personnel and their dependants expected to move to the island in the next few years, she recommend that the Marines be moved over an eight-year period.
Guthertz also recommends reducing the size of the movement to Guam by 50% by having the 4,000 in Futenma move to Tinian and Aguijan as the mayors of those territories have asked the military to consider them for the buildup. The Buildup Committee chair adds her recommendation to then relocate 4,000 of the 8,652 Marines originally intended for Guam from the current infantry base in Okinawa to the vacated facilities in Futenma.
Guthertz says she will present her plans to the federal government, the white house, and to congress in hopes that the agreement between the U.S. and Japan can be reevaluated. She also hopes to hold discussions on her recommendations on Guam as she feels it will better resolve the process.
Posted: Jan 28, 2010 10:52 AM
Updated: Jan 28, 2010 10:52 AM
by Nick Delgado
Guam - Senator Judith Guthertz made recommendations to stretch out the time period and minimize the number of Marines slated to relocate from Okinawa to Guam. While the senator points out that the military's current footprint shows more than 40,000 military personnel and their dependants expected to move to the island in the next few years, she recommend that the Marines be moved over an eight-year period.
Guthertz also recommends reducing the size of the movement to Guam by 50% by having the 4,000 in Futenma move to Tinian and Aguijan as the mayors of those territories have asked the military to consider them for the buildup. The Buildup Committee chair adds her recommendation to then relocate 4,000 of the 8,652 Marines originally intended for Guam from the current infantry base in Okinawa to the vacated facilities in Futenma.
Guthertz says she will present her plans to the federal government, the white house, and to congress in hopes that the agreement between the U.S. and Japan can be reevaluated. She also hopes to hold discussions on her recommendations on Guam as she feels it will better resolve the process.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
$50M from Japan funds new contract
$50M from Japan funds new contract
By Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno • Pacific Daily News • January 13, 2010
While some of Japan's elected officials want to revisit details of their government's agreement with the United States to relocate some of the Marines on Okinawa to Guam, the process to award some of the contracts related to the move is under way.
The award of $50 million in contracts involving Japan's initial share of the cost to move Marines to Guam was announced yesterday by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Pacific, which is based in Honolulu.
The command announced the $50 million architect-engineer services contract award on Jan. 11 to AHL Setiadi Gushiken Joint Venture LLC of Honolulu.
"The contract is for the preparation of project engineering documentation, preliminary and final plans and specifications, request for proposals contract documents, technical reports, construction cost estimates and consultation, and geotechnical investigations and studies for Navy and Marine Corps projects" related to the military buildup on Guam, according to NAVFAC Pacific.
It's the first contract awarded using Japanese government funds for the relocation of Marines to Guam, said NAVFAC Pacific Vice Commander Capt. Paul Fuligni.
Under the contract, two design task orders for Naval projects in Guam were issued:
# $1.7 million for a waterfront headquarters building; and
# $1.6 million for a fire station.
Japan and the United States have agreed to share the $10.27 billion cost to relocate about 8,000 Marines and their 9,000 dependents from Okinawa to Guam and free up land in Okinawa for Japanese civilian use.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Japanese counterpart took the agreement another step forward by signing, in February 2009, a pact that says Japan will help pay for the Marines' relocation to Guam with a total of $6.09 billion.
Of that amount, $2.8 billion of Japan's share will be in direct cash contributions for facilities and infrastructure for the Marines' new Guam base, according to the agreement.
But since the signing, some of the newly elected, more liberal leaders in Japan have called for not just a reduction of U.S. Marines and other American troops in Okinawa, but a complete pullout of the U.S. military there.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in a press conference last year that any alteration of the agreement on the Japan side will derail the process to lessen U.S. troop presence in Japan and move some of the troops to Guam.
The United States had agreed to relocate the Marine Corps air base at Futenma, which sits in the middle of an Okinawan city, to a location within Okinawa but farther from the city hub.
Several members of the U.S. House of Representatives have weighed in on the issue by writing a letter Jan. 7 to Japan Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
"The letter sent to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama expresses Congress' continued support of the ... agreement and for the strategic value of the realignment of military forces in Japan and the Western Pacific," Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo said.
"Prime Minister Hatoyama has voiced concerns regarding the proposed plans for the replacement of Futenma Marine Air Base in Okinawa, and we believe that his concerns can be addressed within the existing framework of the Guam International Agreement," according to Bordallo. "The Futenma replacement facility issue has the potential to unravel the agreement and to reverse the progress that has been achieved in realigning forces in Japan."
Bordallo was joined in the letter by: Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee; Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee; Rep. Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; and Delegate Eni Faleomavaega, chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment.
By Gaynor Dumat-ol Daleno • Pacific Daily News • January 13, 2010
While some of Japan's elected officials want to revisit details of their government's agreement with the United States to relocate some of the Marines on Okinawa to Guam, the process to award some of the contracts related to the move is under way.
The award of $50 million in contracts involving Japan's initial share of the cost to move Marines to Guam was announced yesterday by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Pacific, which is based in Honolulu.
The command announced the $50 million architect-engineer services contract award on Jan. 11 to AHL Setiadi Gushiken Joint Venture LLC of Honolulu.
"The contract is for the preparation of project engineering documentation, preliminary and final plans and specifications, request for proposals contract documents, technical reports, construction cost estimates and consultation, and geotechnical investigations and studies for Navy and Marine Corps projects" related to the military buildup on Guam, according to NAVFAC Pacific.
It's the first contract awarded using Japanese government funds for the relocation of Marines to Guam, said NAVFAC Pacific Vice Commander Capt. Paul Fuligni.
Under the contract, two design task orders for Naval projects in Guam were issued:
# $1.7 million for a waterfront headquarters building; and
# $1.6 million for a fire station.
Japan and the United States have agreed to share the $10.27 billion cost to relocate about 8,000 Marines and their 9,000 dependents from Okinawa to Guam and free up land in Okinawa for Japanese civilian use.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Japanese counterpart took the agreement another step forward by signing, in February 2009, a pact that says Japan will help pay for the Marines' relocation to Guam with a total of $6.09 billion.
Of that amount, $2.8 billion of Japan's share will be in direct cash contributions for facilities and infrastructure for the Marines' new Guam base, according to the agreement.
But since the signing, some of the newly elected, more liberal leaders in Japan have called for not just a reduction of U.S. Marines and other American troops in Okinawa, but a complete pullout of the U.S. military there.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in a press conference last year that any alteration of the agreement on the Japan side will derail the process to lessen U.S. troop presence in Japan and move some of the troops to Guam.
The United States had agreed to relocate the Marine Corps air base at Futenma, which sits in the middle of an Okinawan city, to a location within Okinawa but farther from the city hub.
Several members of the U.S. House of Representatives have weighed in on the issue by writing a letter Jan. 7 to Japan Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
"The letter sent to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama expresses Congress' continued support of the ... agreement and for the strategic value of the realignment of military forces in Japan and the Western Pacific," Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo said.
"Prime Minister Hatoyama has voiced concerns regarding the proposed plans for the replacement of Futenma Marine Air Base in Okinawa, and we believe that his concerns can be addressed within the existing framework of the Guam International Agreement," according to Bordallo. "The Futenma replacement facility issue has the potential to unravel the agreement and to reverse the progress that has been achieved in realigning forces in Japan."
Bordallo was joined in the letter by: Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee; Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee; Rep. Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; and Delegate Eni Faleomavaega, chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Japan's leader wants more equal ties with U.S.
Japan's leader wants more equal ties with U.S.
Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, January 7, 2010
Japan’s prime minister said this week he will press for a more equal relationship with the United States during this year, which marks the 50th anniversary of a joint security treaty allowing forward-deployed U.S. forces in the country.
The comments came after months of building friction between the two governments, mainly over Japan’s reconsideration of a 2006 agreement to move 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam and relocate Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, to a planned airfield at Camp Schwab along the island’s rural northeast coast.
An ideal relationship with the United States would be more open and equal, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said following a nationally televised New Year’s address Monday.
“It’s important to show that Japan and the United States are in a relationship in which we need each other,” he said. The two nations should not accept a situation where “we just give up what we want to say only because it’s difficult, or where one simply obeys the other.”
Hatoyama and his ruling coalition wrested control from the Liberal Democratic Party in September, breaking a streak of political dominance that dated to the signing of the security treaty in 1960.
The new government said it will make a decision by May on how to proceed with the Okinawa alignment plan, which was signed in 2006 after years of negotiations by both countries.
The delay is not the only development creating friction between the longtime allies.
Japan is also mulling updates to the 50-year-old security agreement that could impose new environmental regulations on U.S. military bases. The U.S. currently has little responsibility for cleaning up sites used by the military in Japan.
Meanwhile, at the end of November, in a display of cooperation between Japan and the U.S., Japan invited Chinese defense officials onto Sasebo Naval Base, shared with the U.S. Navy. Members of China’s Defense Ministry were brought aboard a Japanese destroyer equipped with Aegis anti-ballistic missile technology, The destroyer Chokai was given to Japan by the U.S. and would be a key tool in any defense against Chinese or North Korean missiles.
Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, January 7, 2010
Japan’s prime minister said this week he will press for a more equal relationship with the United States during this year, which marks the 50th anniversary of a joint security treaty allowing forward-deployed U.S. forces in the country.
The comments came after months of building friction between the two governments, mainly over Japan’s reconsideration of a 2006 agreement to move 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam and relocate Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, to a planned airfield at Camp Schwab along the island’s rural northeast coast.
An ideal relationship with the United States would be more open and equal, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said following a nationally televised New Year’s address Monday.
“It’s important to show that Japan and the United States are in a relationship in which we need each other,” he said. The two nations should not accept a situation where “we just give up what we want to say only because it’s difficult, or where one simply obeys the other.”
Hatoyama and his ruling coalition wrested control from the Liberal Democratic Party in September, breaking a streak of political dominance that dated to the signing of the security treaty in 1960.
The new government said it will make a decision by May on how to proceed with the Okinawa alignment plan, which was signed in 2006 after years of negotiations by both countries.
The delay is not the only development creating friction between the longtime allies.
Japan is also mulling updates to the 50-year-old security agreement that could impose new environmental regulations on U.S. military bases. The U.S. currently has little responsibility for cleaning up sites used by the military in Japan.
Meanwhile, at the end of November, in a display of cooperation between Japan and the U.S., Japan invited Chinese defense officials onto Sasebo Naval Base, shared with the U.S. Navy. Members of China’s Defense Ministry were brought aboard a Japanese destroyer equipped with Aegis anti-ballistic missile technology, The destroyer Chokai was given to Japan by the U.S. and would be a key tool in any defense against Chinese or North Korean missiles.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Full move to Guam nixed
Full move to Guam nixed
Monday, 28 December 2009 04:36
by Mar-Vic Cagurangan | Variety News Staff
Report blows whistle on 10,000 ‘ghost troops’
JAPAN’S Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has dropped his administration’s tentative proposal to relocate the entire U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa to Guam, saying the idea was “unrealistic in light of the deterrence'' provided by the U.S. forces, Kyodo News reported yesterday.
“'There was a time when we should have studied the possibility of total relocation (of Futemma Air Station) to Guam,” Kyodo news quoted Hatoyama as saying.
He suggested that Japan may have no other choice but to stick to the 2006 agreement between the United States and Japan, which involves the transfer of 8,000 U.S. Marine Corp troops and their dependents.
With Hatoyama giving up the complete transfer of Marines to Guam, the government will now have to seek alternative sites in Japan as no other overseas location for hosting the U.S. military base is being considered, according to Kyodo News.
A Japanese expert on international affairs, however, claimed the relocation plan was based on a bogus blueprint with numbers fabricated by Japan’s Foreign Ministry.
Ghost troops
Tanaka Sakai, creator and editor of Tanaka News, said the Foreign Ministry fabricated 10,000 “phantom troops” to maintain a myth that 10,000 Marines will remain on Okinawa after the transfer of 8,000 units to Guam.
Citing figures from the American Military’s Japan headquarters, Sakai said the actual numbers of Okinawa-based Marines are 12,500 and 8,000 dependents for a total of 20,500.
“Now if we close our eyes to the negative number of family members, the total number of Marines and their dependents remaining on Okinawa should only be 3,500,” Sakai in his article titled "Japanese Bureaucrats Hide Decision to Move All US Marines out of Okinawa to Guam," published by The Asia-Pacific Journal Dec. 21.
“The Okinawa-based Marines are steadily moving to Guam while leaving a phantom force of 10,000 and continuing to receive huge sums of money from Japan. However, on the premise that 10,000 Marines will remain, talk continues about the need to build a new base in Henoko and the voices of opposition of the Okinawa people grow louder,” Sakai said.
White elephant
He suggested that the Henoko project, which consists of barracks and entertainment facilities, would be further wasteful spending because the facility would be used only briefly at the height of the troop relocation in 2014.
The “phantom troops” were presented in the plan to justify the Henoko project, which Sakai said was the Japanese government’s way of pleasing and bribing the United States.
The 2006 accord between the United States and Japan was forged when the Liberal Democratic Party was the ruling administration, which was perceived to be sympathetic to the United States.
On the other hand, Hatoyama’s Democratic Party of Japan, which defeated LDP in the August elections, has been showing resistance to the U.S. pressure.
Full relocation
The idea of relocating the entire Futenma force to Guam originally came from the United States, according to Sakai.
The proposal was actually included in the “Guam Integrated Military Development Plan” which was drawn up in July of 2006 and released in September.
“The American military, knowing that Japan would pay the construction costs, can be thought to have decided on a plan to develop Guam as a unique global integrated military center,” Sakai wrote.
“The U.S.-Japan Roadmap had earlier called for the removal of Marines from Okinawa to Guam ‘in a manner that maintains unit integrity.’ This also hinted that the transfer would not only involve Marine Corps headquarters but the relocation of combat units as well,” he added.
The Guam Integrated Military Development Plan was posted on the Department of Defense’s website in September, but was deleted one week later, Sakai said.
“Perhaps the Guam Integrated Military Development Plan revealed too much, causing fear that people would wake up to the fact that the Okinawa-based Marines were planning a complete withdrawal. It may have been this fear that caused the site to disappear so quickly,” Sakai said.
Monday, 28 December 2009 04:36
by Mar-Vic Cagurangan | Variety News Staff
Report blows whistle on 10,000 ‘ghost troops’
JAPAN’S Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has dropped his administration’s tentative proposal to relocate the entire U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa to Guam, saying the idea was “unrealistic in light of the deterrence'' provided by the U.S. forces, Kyodo News reported yesterday.
“'There was a time when we should have studied the possibility of total relocation (of Futemma Air Station) to Guam,” Kyodo news quoted Hatoyama as saying.
He suggested that Japan may have no other choice but to stick to the 2006 agreement between the United States and Japan, which involves the transfer of 8,000 U.S. Marine Corp troops and their dependents.
With Hatoyama giving up the complete transfer of Marines to Guam, the government will now have to seek alternative sites in Japan as no other overseas location for hosting the U.S. military base is being considered, according to Kyodo News.
A Japanese expert on international affairs, however, claimed the relocation plan was based on a bogus blueprint with numbers fabricated by Japan’s Foreign Ministry.
Ghost troops
Tanaka Sakai, creator and editor of Tanaka News, said the Foreign Ministry fabricated 10,000 “phantom troops” to maintain a myth that 10,000 Marines will remain on Okinawa after the transfer of 8,000 units to Guam.
Citing figures from the American Military’s Japan headquarters, Sakai said the actual numbers of Okinawa-based Marines are 12,500 and 8,000 dependents for a total of 20,500.
“Now if we close our eyes to the negative number of family members, the total number of Marines and their dependents remaining on Okinawa should only be 3,500,” Sakai in his article titled "Japanese Bureaucrats Hide Decision to Move All US Marines out of Okinawa to Guam," published by The Asia-Pacific Journal Dec. 21.
“The Okinawa-based Marines are steadily moving to Guam while leaving a phantom force of 10,000 and continuing to receive huge sums of money from Japan. However, on the premise that 10,000 Marines will remain, talk continues about the need to build a new base in Henoko and the voices of opposition of the Okinawa people grow louder,” Sakai said.
White elephant
He suggested that the Henoko project, which consists of barracks and entertainment facilities, would be further wasteful spending because the facility would be used only briefly at the height of the troop relocation in 2014.
The “phantom troops” were presented in the plan to justify the Henoko project, which Sakai said was the Japanese government’s way of pleasing and bribing the United States.
The 2006 accord between the United States and Japan was forged when the Liberal Democratic Party was the ruling administration, which was perceived to be sympathetic to the United States.
On the other hand, Hatoyama’s Democratic Party of Japan, which defeated LDP in the August elections, has been showing resistance to the U.S. pressure.
Full relocation
The idea of relocating the entire Futenma force to Guam originally came from the United States, according to Sakai.
The proposal was actually included in the “Guam Integrated Military Development Plan” which was drawn up in July of 2006 and released in September.
“The American military, knowing that Japan would pay the construction costs, can be thought to have decided on a plan to develop Guam as a unique global integrated military center,” Sakai wrote.
“The U.S.-Japan Roadmap had earlier called for the removal of Marines from Okinawa to Guam ‘in a manner that maintains unit integrity.’ This also hinted that the transfer would not only involve Marine Corps headquarters but the relocation of combat units as well,” he added.
The Guam Integrated Military Development Plan was posted on the Department of Defense’s website in September, but was deleted one week later, Sakai said.
“Perhaps the Guam Integrated Military Development Plan revealed too much, causing fear that people would wake up to the fact that the Okinawa-based Marines were planning a complete withdrawal. It may have been this fear that caused the site to disappear so quickly,” Sakai said.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Coalition leader wants US base off Okinawa
Coalition leader wants US base off Okinawa
Friday, 18 December 2009 04:32 by Eric Talmadge Associated Press
NAHA, Japan (AP)— The leader of one of Japan's ruling coalition parties said Wednesday she wants a U.S. Marine base moved off the southern island of Okinawa, deepening a dispute with Washington over the future of the airfield.
Mizuho Fukushima, head of the left-leaning Social Democratic Party, said that as a member of the Cabinet she supports the closure and removal of the base.
"I am optimistic something can be done to move the base off Okinawa or out of the country," she said after a meeting with Okinawa's governor, Hirokazu Nakaima, in the local capital of Naha.
"I also think it would be best if the base could be moved off Okinawa," Nakaima said.
Longer time
Under intense pressure from his political base, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Japan needs several more months to decide, prompting the U.S. Marine Corps commandant, Gen. James Conway, to warn that the base's status is "absolutely vital to the defense that we provide for the entire region."
Fukushima, the leader of the smallest group in Japan's three-party ruling coalition, has hinted her party would withdraw from the government if the base is not moved off Okinawa. Her staunch opposition to the previous plan is seen as a primary factor behind Hatoyama's reluctance to decide on a relocation site.
The U.S. had hoped for a resolution by the end of the year, but Hatoyama said a hasty decision would be irresponsible.
Hatoyama has promised that Tokyo will adopt a less subservient relationship with Washington, but has also stressed the U.S. security alliance is the cornerstone of Japan's diplomacy.
Disappointed
Meanwhile, Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo expressed disappointment Hatoyama’s decision to delay making a final decision on the implementation of the 2006 plan.
“Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then-Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone signed the Guam International Agreement in February of this year which codified the implementation plan for realignment of military forces in Japan to include the transfer of Marines from Okinawa to Guam. This agreement was reached after lengthy discussions and negotiations,” Bordallo said.
She noted that difficult decisions were reached in the agreement but they are the best options available that allow the alliance between the two nations to remain strong.
“I believe that with additional time, Prime Minister Hatoyama’s administration will come to the same conclusion as the Obama administration and previous governments in Japan that this is the best deal,” Bordallo said.
The congresswoman cited the importance of getting a commitment from the government of Japan to provide funding for the new airfield as well as the realignment of Marines from Okinawa to Guam.
“This fiscal commitment in the forthcoming Government of Japan fiscal year 2010 budget is important to continuing the U.S. government’s commitment to the implementation plan,” Bordallo said. “I firmly believe that moving forward with the implementation plan is critical to ensuring that of both our nations are postured to effectively respond to current and emerging threats in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Friday, 18 December 2009 04:32 by Eric Talmadge Associated Press
NAHA, Japan (AP)— The leader of one of Japan's ruling coalition parties said Wednesday she wants a U.S. Marine base moved off the southern island of Okinawa, deepening a dispute with Washington over the future of the airfield.
Mizuho Fukushima, head of the left-leaning Social Democratic Party, said that as a member of the Cabinet she supports the closure and removal of the base.
"I am optimistic something can be done to move the base off Okinawa or out of the country," she said after a meeting with Okinawa's governor, Hirokazu Nakaima, in the local capital of Naha.
"I also think it would be best if the base could be moved off Okinawa," Nakaima said.
Longer time
Under intense pressure from his political base, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Japan needs several more months to decide, prompting the U.S. Marine Corps commandant, Gen. James Conway, to warn that the base's status is "absolutely vital to the defense that we provide for the entire region."
Fukushima, the leader of the smallest group in Japan's three-party ruling coalition, has hinted her party would withdraw from the government if the base is not moved off Okinawa. Her staunch opposition to the previous plan is seen as a primary factor behind Hatoyama's reluctance to decide on a relocation site.
The U.S. had hoped for a resolution by the end of the year, but Hatoyama said a hasty decision would be irresponsible.
Hatoyama has promised that Tokyo will adopt a less subservient relationship with Washington, but has also stressed the U.S. security alliance is the cornerstone of Japan's diplomacy.
Disappointed
Meanwhile, Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo expressed disappointment Hatoyama’s decision to delay making a final decision on the implementation of the 2006 plan.
“Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then-Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone signed the Guam International Agreement in February of this year which codified the implementation plan for realignment of military forces in Japan to include the transfer of Marines from Okinawa to Guam. This agreement was reached after lengthy discussions and negotiations,” Bordallo said.
She noted that difficult decisions were reached in the agreement but they are the best options available that allow the alliance between the two nations to remain strong.
“I believe that with additional time, Prime Minister Hatoyama’s administration will come to the same conclusion as the Obama administration and previous governments in Japan that this is the best deal,” Bordallo said.
The congresswoman cited the importance of getting a commitment from the government of Japan to provide funding for the new airfield as well as the realignment of Marines from Okinawa to Guam.
“This fiscal commitment in the forthcoming Government of Japan fiscal year 2010 budget is important to continuing the U.S. government’s commitment to the implementation plan,” Bordallo said. “I firmly believe that moving forward with the implementation plan is critical to ensuring that of both our nations are postured to effectively respond to current and emerging threats in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Japan to decide on relocation policy today
Japan to decide on relocation policy today
Tuesday, 15 December 2009 00:37
Varitey News Staff
TOKYO (AP) — Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Monday his government will decide on its policy on the issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps Futemma Air Station in Okinawa on Tuesday and convey it to the United States by the end of this month.
"We will hold a meeting of the ministerial committee on basic policies tomorrow, and I'd like to align the three ruling parties then," he told reporters, referring to a meeting of the heads of the three parties comprising his coalition government.
"I'm feeling positively about it (the meeting's outcome) and therefore think we will be able to formulate a government policy on the Futemma relocation issue," he said.
Asked if Tokyo will relay its policy to Washington by the end of this month, the prime minister said, "Of course." But he said he was not sure if he could announce the policy at the same time the government formulates it.
Hatoyama's remarks came after meeting with Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and Okinawa affairs minister Seiji Maehara at the prime minister's office on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the issue and make final adjustments.
Hatoyama declined to elaborate on what that government policy may be, but indicated it may be different from the existing bilateral deal on the relocation, saying "If it is the same as the original plan, we would not have had trouble from the beginning."
"I have strong feelings about seeking U.S. understanding (of Japan's policy) through negotiations," he added.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano told a news conference the same day that the government's policy is unlikely to include a concrete option for a relocation site.
Under the 2006 bilateral deal, the Futemma facility will be relocated to a new facility to be built in a less populated part of the southern island, while moving 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam by 2014.
Hatoyama's three-month-old government is reexamining the relocation plan, which is part of a broader agreement on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, in line with a three-party agreement to work toward reviewing U.S. military bases in the country.
The Social Democratic Party, one of the two junior partners of Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan, has advocated moving the Futemma facility outside of Okinawa or overseas to reduce the burden on the people of Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S. military forces in Japan.
SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima and People's New Party leader Shizuka Kamei, who are also state ministers in Hatoyama's Cabinet, are expected to attend Tuesday's ministerial committee meeting, while Hatoyama said he will not take part in it.
In Monday's news conference, Hirano said that at Tuesday's meeting the leaders of the three parties would "recognize and share" the direction in which the government will proceed on the matter.
In the morning, Hatoyama denied reports that Japan intends to propose talks to discuss a new relocation site for the Marine airfield to the United States by the end of the week, saying, "I haven't thought of making such a proposal."
Tuesday, 15 December 2009 00:37
Varitey News Staff
TOKYO (AP) — Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Monday his government will decide on its policy on the issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps Futemma Air Station in Okinawa on Tuesday and convey it to the United States by the end of this month.
"We will hold a meeting of the ministerial committee on basic policies tomorrow, and I'd like to align the three ruling parties then," he told reporters, referring to a meeting of the heads of the three parties comprising his coalition government.
"I'm feeling positively about it (the meeting's outcome) and therefore think we will be able to formulate a government policy on the Futemma relocation issue," he said.
Asked if Tokyo will relay its policy to Washington by the end of this month, the prime minister said, "Of course." But he said he was not sure if he could announce the policy at the same time the government formulates it.
Hatoyama's remarks came after meeting with Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and Okinawa affairs minister Seiji Maehara at the prime minister's office on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the issue and make final adjustments.
Hatoyama declined to elaborate on what that government policy may be, but indicated it may be different from the existing bilateral deal on the relocation, saying "If it is the same as the original plan, we would not have had trouble from the beginning."
"I have strong feelings about seeking U.S. understanding (of Japan's policy) through negotiations," he added.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano told a news conference the same day that the government's policy is unlikely to include a concrete option for a relocation site.
Under the 2006 bilateral deal, the Futemma facility will be relocated to a new facility to be built in a less populated part of the southern island, while moving 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam by 2014.
Hatoyama's three-month-old government is reexamining the relocation plan, which is part of a broader agreement on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, in line with a three-party agreement to work toward reviewing U.S. military bases in the country.
The Social Democratic Party, one of the two junior partners of Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan, has advocated moving the Futemma facility outside of Okinawa or overseas to reduce the burden on the people of Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S. military forces in Japan.
SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima and People's New Party leader Shizuka Kamei, who are also state ministers in Hatoyama's Cabinet, are expected to attend Tuesday's ministerial committee meeting, while Hatoyama said he will not take part in it.
In Monday's news conference, Hirano said that at Tuesday's meeting the leaders of the three parties would "recognize and share" the direction in which the government will proceed on the matter.
In the morning, Hatoyama denied reports that Japan intends to propose talks to discuss a new relocation site for the Marine airfield to the United States by the end of the week, saying, "I haven't thought of making such a proposal."
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Japan PM still mulling Futenma move Hatoyama ‘not there yet’ on relocation; U.S. growing impatient with delay
Japan PM still mulling Futenma move Hatoyama ‘not there yet’ on relocation; U.S. growing impatient with delay
By David Allen, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, November 14, 2009
YOMITAN, Okinawa — While U.S. officials are eager for Japan to accept a 2006 agreement to move Marine Corps air operations on Okinawa, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama indicated late Friday that his country is still studying the agreement and possible options.
Hatoyama told reporters in Tokyo that the government must be careful in its review of the 2006 Roadmap to Realignment, and it could be a while before it formulates its own policy on the issue.
After a closed-door session with the heads of the two junior parties of the ruling coalition, Hatoyama said it "would be easy if we could just say, ‘Let’s move on with the plan.’"
"But we’re not there yet," he said, according to a transcript of the briefing. "It is obvious we are not in such a situation. As the new government of Japan, we are in the middle of searching for a way — while giving consideration to the feelings of the people of Okinawa — to find a course that is acceptable to the United States."
Hatoyama said he would announce his policy on the Futenma relocation "in the not too distant future," adding that "we need some time before we can win understanding from the United States."
The U.S. and Japan signed an agreement in May 2006 to realign U.S. forces throughout Japan, particularly on Okinawa, which is host to 75 percent of U.S. base land in Japan and almost half the 47,000 troops here.
The agreement calls for moving Marine air operations to a new air station to be built in rural northeast Okinawa, on Camp Schwab and reclaimed land in Oura Bay. Once that is completed, the U.S. would close Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and several other bases in urban southern Okinawa and transfer more than 8,000 Marines and their families to Guam, by the end of 2014.
But Hatoyama’s center-left Democratic Party of Japan has called for a review of the Camp Schwab plan. Prior to being swept into power in August, the party called for moving Futenma operations to somewhere other than Okinawa, if not outside Japan.
The U.S. contends the Futenma Relocation plan is the only viable option, that it’s the key to the entire realignment agreement and that failure to move forward could leave Futenma open indefinitely.
Meanwhile, an Okinawan member of Japan’s House of Representatives said he was told by U.S. officials in Washington that the U.S. is becoming impatient.
In Washington on Friday, according to reports in several Japanese newspapers, Mikio Shimoji, an Okinawan member of the Diet and the chief policymaker for the New People’s Party, a junior member of the ruling coalition, said he met with Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, concerning the Futenma issue.
He said Campbell warned that if Japan does not decide on the Futenma Relocation plan soon, funds allocated for construction on Guam for the transfer of the Marines might be redirected to other projects, according to Kyodo News.
Shimoji, an opponent of the Camp Schwab project, responded that "things are not that easy," the news agency reported.
An aide traveling with Shimoji told reporters that Campbell appeared to "sweeten the deal" concerning Camp Schwab by offering to move some Marine helicopter training to Camp Fuji, near Tokyo.
By David Allen, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, November 14, 2009
YOMITAN, Okinawa — While U.S. officials are eager for Japan to accept a 2006 agreement to move Marine Corps air operations on Okinawa, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama indicated late Friday that his country is still studying the agreement and possible options.
Hatoyama told reporters in Tokyo that the government must be careful in its review of the 2006 Roadmap to Realignment, and it could be a while before it formulates its own policy on the issue.
After a closed-door session with the heads of the two junior parties of the ruling coalition, Hatoyama said it "would be easy if we could just say, ‘Let’s move on with the plan.’"
"But we’re not there yet," he said, according to a transcript of the briefing. "It is obvious we are not in such a situation. As the new government of Japan, we are in the middle of searching for a way — while giving consideration to the feelings of the people of Okinawa — to find a course that is acceptable to the United States."
Hatoyama said he would announce his policy on the Futenma relocation "in the not too distant future," adding that "we need some time before we can win understanding from the United States."
The U.S. and Japan signed an agreement in May 2006 to realign U.S. forces throughout Japan, particularly on Okinawa, which is host to 75 percent of U.S. base land in Japan and almost half the 47,000 troops here.
The agreement calls for moving Marine air operations to a new air station to be built in rural northeast Okinawa, on Camp Schwab and reclaimed land in Oura Bay. Once that is completed, the U.S. would close Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and several other bases in urban southern Okinawa and transfer more than 8,000 Marines and their families to Guam, by the end of 2014.
But Hatoyama’s center-left Democratic Party of Japan has called for a review of the Camp Schwab plan. Prior to being swept into power in August, the party called for moving Futenma operations to somewhere other than Okinawa, if not outside Japan.
The U.S. contends the Futenma Relocation plan is the only viable option, that it’s the key to the entire realignment agreement and that failure to move forward could leave Futenma open indefinitely.
Meanwhile, an Okinawan member of Japan’s House of Representatives said he was told by U.S. officials in Washington that the U.S. is becoming impatient.
In Washington on Friday, according to reports in several Japanese newspapers, Mikio Shimoji, an Okinawan member of the Diet and the chief policymaker for the New People’s Party, a junior member of the ruling coalition, said he met with Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, concerning the Futenma issue.
He said Campbell warned that if Japan does not decide on the Futenma Relocation plan soon, funds allocated for construction on Guam for the transfer of the Marines might be redirected to other projects, according to Kyodo News.
Shimoji, an opponent of the Camp Schwab project, responded that "things are not that easy," the news agency reported.
An aide traveling with Shimoji told reporters that Campbell appeared to "sweeten the deal" concerning Camp Schwab by offering to move some Marine helicopter training to Camp Fuji, near Tokyo.
Japan gets ultimatum
Japan gets ultimatum
Monday, 14 December 2009 02:59
by Romeo Carlos | Variety News Staff
US wants Japanese government to decide by Friday
THE United States has given Japan until the end of this week to decide whether or not it will implement the 2006 pact involving the relocation of U.S. marines in Okinawa, saying the 2011 budget allocation for the transfer plan is at stake, Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
U.S. officials are taking a hardline suggesting allocations planned for the transfer of the Marines might be spent elsewhere in the federal budget if Tokyo failed to comply with a reasonable response by Friday.
It was strongly indicated by the U.S. that Washington would not be able to alleviate the prefecture's burdens as a host of U.S. bases if Tokyo chooses not to accept the current plan.
A policy research committee head for a center-right conservative partner of the new government in Tokyo met to discuss the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa prefecture with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and other U.S. officials at the State Department in Washington on Friday.
The relocation of the air base has become a stumbling block in the much-anticipated transfer of 8,000 Marines from Okinawa as part of a massive realignment on Guam.
During a courtesy call with Gov. Felix P. Camacho last week, Japanese defense minister Toshimi Kitazawa confirmed moving the entire Futenma air base to Guam had been presented as an option for consideration.
During his Guam visit, Kitazawa acknowledged that it would be difficult for the island to accommodate more than 8,000 Marines.
“On Guam the government has already begun to prepare for the buildup based on the 2006 plan agreed to by the United States and Japan,” Kitazawa told reporters. “[Relocating Futenma to Guam] is not included in that plan.”
The defense minister recognized his country’s responsibilities in negotiations with the U.S., he said, emphasizing the need to discuss the matter “intensively” with Democratic Party of Japan coalition partners.
In the meantime, amid growing uncertainty and incongruities, Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo issued a written statement heralding almost $740 million in military project spending the delegate described as “moving from planning to implementation phase” which she claims will “create jobs for our local workforce.”
The military impact study downplays any significant economic contributions to the economy however and cites among the reasons the high levels of foreign workers that will actually get most of the 33,000 jobs the impact report projects will be created.
Monday, 14 December 2009 02:59
by Romeo Carlos | Variety News Staff
US wants Japanese government to decide by Friday
THE United States has given Japan until the end of this week to decide whether or not it will implement the 2006 pact involving the relocation of U.S. marines in Okinawa, saying the 2011 budget allocation for the transfer plan is at stake, Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
U.S. officials are taking a hardline suggesting allocations planned for the transfer of the Marines might be spent elsewhere in the federal budget if Tokyo failed to comply with a reasonable response by Friday.
It was strongly indicated by the U.S. that Washington would not be able to alleviate the prefecture's burdens as a host of U.S. bases if Tokyo chooses not to accept the current plan.
A policy research committee head for a center-right conservative partner of the new government in Tokyo met to discuss the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa prefecture with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and other U.S. officials at the State Department in Washington on Friday.
The relocation of the air base has become a stumbling block in the much-anticipated transfer of 8,000 Marines from Okinawa as part of a massive realignment on Guam.
During a courtesy call with Gov. Felix P. Camacho last week, Japanese defense minister Toshimi Kitazawa confirmed moving the entire Futenma air base to Guam had been presented as an option for consideration.
During his Guam visit, Kitazawa acknowledged that it would be difficult for the island to accommodate more than 8,000 Marines.
“On Guam the government has already begun to prepare for the buildup based on the 2006 plan agreed to by the United States and Japan,” Kitazawa told reporters. “[Relocating Futenma to Guam] is not included in that plan.”
The defense minister recognized his country’s responsibilities in negotiations with the U.S., he said, emphasizing the need to discuss the matter “intensively” with Democratic Party of Japan coalition partners.
In the meantime, amid growing uncertainty and incongruities, Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo issued a written statement heralding almost $740 million in military project spending the delegate described as “moving from planning to implementation phase” which she claims will “create jobs for our local workforce.”
The military impact study downplays any significant economic contributions to the economy however and cites among the reasons the high levels of foreign workers that will actually get most of the 33,000 jobs the impact report projects will be created.
U.S. urges Futenma decision by Friday
U.S. urges Futenma decision by Friday
Satoshi Ogawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
WASHINGTON--The United States urged Japan on Friday to decide by the coming Friday whether it will implement the current plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, citing the need to compile its fiscal 2011 budget, a Japanese lawmaker has said.
Mikio Shimoji, the policy research committee head of the People's New Party, a junior partner in the Democratic Party of Japan-led coalition, discussed the Futenma issue with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and other U.S. officials at the State Department in Washington on Friday.
According to Shimoji, the U.S. side indicated that if the Japanese government would not accept the current plan, the U.S. government could not request a budget allocation for the planned transfer of 8,000 U.S. marines based in Okinawa Prefecture to Guam in the budget compilations for fiscal 2011, which cover October 2010 through September 2011.
Shimoji is expected to relay the U.S. stance to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama after returning to Japan.
During the meeting, the U.S. side reportedly told Shimoji that if Tokyo could not implement the current agreed on plan to relocate the Futenma base in Ginowan to Nago, both in the prefecture, Washington could not implement measures to alleviate the prefecture's burdens as a host of U.S. bases, such as the transfer of U.S. marines to Guam and the returning of the U.S. military facilities in the southern part of the prefecture. Such measures are considered by the U.S. government to be linked to the relocation plan of the base.
If Tokyo chooses not to accept the current plan, the U.S. side said, citing the difficult budget process, the U.S. government would allocate funding originally intended for the transfer of the marines to Guam for other purposes in the fiscal 2011 budget to be compiled in February. Also, Campbell reportedly told Shimoji that he took seriously the fact that Hatoyama had said to U.S. President Barack Obama, "Trust me," at the Japan-U.S. summit meeting in November in Tokyo, emphasizing that Hatoyama had promised to accept the current relocation plan at an early stage.
Satoshi Ogawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
WASHINGTON--The United States urged Japan on Friday to decide by the coming Friday whether it will implement the current plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, citing the need to compile its fiscal 2011 budget, a Japanese lawmaker has said.
Mikio Shimoji, the policy research committee head of the People's New Party, a junior partner in the Democratic Party of Japan-led coalition, discussed the Futenma issue with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and other U.S. officials at the State Department in Washington on Friday.
According to Shimoji, the U.S. side indicated that if the Japanese government would not accept the current plan, the U.S. government could not request a budget allocation for the planned transfer of 8,000 U.S. marines based in Okinawa Prefecture to Guam in the budget compilations for fiscal 2011, which cover October 2010 through September 2011.
Shimoji is expected to relay the U.S. stance to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama after returning to Japan.
During the meeting, the U.S. side reportedly told Shimoji that if Tokyo could not implement the current agreed on plan to relocate the Futenma base in Ginowan to Nago, both in the prefecture, Washington could not implement measures to alleviate the prefecture's burdens as a host of U.S. bases, such as the transfer of U.S. marines to Guam and the returning of the U.S. military facilities in the southern part of the prefecture. Such measures are considered by the U.S. government to be linked to the relocation plan of the base.
If Tokyo chooses not to accept the current plan, the U.S. side said, citing the difficult budget process, the U.S. government would allocate funding originally intended for the transfer of the marines to Guam for other purposes in the fiscal 2011 budget to be compiled in February. Also, Campbell reportedly told Shimoji that he took seriously the fact that Hatoyama had said to U.S. President Barack Obama, "Trust me," at the Japan-U.S. summit meeting in November in Tokyo, emphasizing that Hatoyama had promised to accept the current relocation plan at an early stage.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Futenma talks likely to resume
Futenma talks likely to resume
December 11, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Discussions between the United States and Japan on the relocation of the Futenma Marine Corps air base may resume as early as next week, according to The Associated Press.
Just days ago, talks between the two countries regarding Futenma had been suspended, with no restart date set.
But now Japan's newly elected Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said he hopes to meet with President Barack Obama next week to offer his proposals on the relocation of Futenma, the AP reported.
Members of Hatoyama's Cabinet are working to hand over the proposal to Obama on the side of the 192-nation U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen next week, though Hatoyama has not officially asked for a meeting, according to the AP.
The relocation of the Futenma base is just one provision in the bilateral agreement signed between Japan and the United States in 2006, and it's also the most contentious part of the agreement. Obama has granted the Japanese leadership more time to review the agreement, but the U.S. Defense Department says the remainder of the realignment plan cannot move forward until Futenma's replacement facility is finalized, the AP reported.
Washington and Tokyo agreed in 2006 to relocate the base to a site farther north so it poses less of a threat and disturbance to the residents surrounding it. Both governments reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement earlier this year when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Japan's then- Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone signed the agreement again in February.
However, Hatoyama has responded to the concern of Okinawans who want the base moved off their island entirely, and has expressed his support for moving the base elsewhere, according to the AP.
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa have said it would be difficult to find a site not on the island, and have suggested honoring the current agreement.
Two possible locations that have been considered thus far are Guam and Iwo To, the former Iwo Jima.
Already officials in Washington have agreed to move about 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam by 2014.
Kitazawa, who was visiting Guam on Wednesday to inspect the site for the proposed transfer of Marines warned that pushing for a plan that deviates from the current agreement would hurt trust between the allies, according to the AP.
"Defense Minister Kitazawa's visit is an important step in the process of carrying out agreements between the U.S. and Japan to realign forces in the Pacific," added acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roger Natsuhara, according to a press release issued by the Joint Guam Program Office.
Nearly 50,000 U.S. troops are deployed across Japan under a post-World War II bilateral security pact.
Pacific Daily News reporter Amritha Alladi contributed to this report.
December 11, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Discussions between the United States and Japan on the relocation of the Futenma Marine Corps air base may resume as early as next week, according to The Associated Press.
Just days ago, talks between the two countries regarding Futenma had been suspended, with no restart date set.
But now Japan's newly elected Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said he hopes to meet with President Barack Obama next week to offer his proposals on the relocation of Futenma, the AP reported.
Members of Hatoyama's Cabinet are working to hand over the proposal to Obama on the side of the 192-nation U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen next week, though Hatoyama has not officially asked for a meeting, according to the AP.
The relocation of the Futenma base is just one provision in the bilateral agreement signed between Japan and the United States in 2006, and it's also the most contentious part of the agreement. Obama has granted the Japanese leadership more time to review the agreement, but the U.S. Defense Department says the remainder of the realignment plan cannot move forward until Futenma's replacement facility is finalized, the AP reported.
Washington and Tokyo agreed in 2006 to relocate the base to a site farther north so it poses less of a threat and disturbance to the residents surrounding it. Both governments reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement earlier this year when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Japan's then- Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone signed the agreement again in February.
However, Hatoyama has responded to the concern of Okinawans who want the base moved off their island entirely, and has expressed his support for moving the base elsewhere, according to the AP.
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa have said it would be difficult to find a site not on the island, and have suggested honoring the current agreement.
Two possible locations that have been considered thus far are Guam and Iwo To, the former Iwo Jima.
Already officials in Washington have agreed to move about 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam by 2014.
Kitazawa, who was visiting Guam on Wednesday to inspect the site for the proposed transfer of Marines warned that pushing for a plan that deviates from the current agreement would hurt trust between the allies, according to the AP.
"Defense Minister Kitazawa's visit is an important step in the process of carrying out agreements between the U.S. and Japan to realign forces in the Pacific," added acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roger Natsuhara, according to a press release issued by the Joint Guam Program Office.
Nearly 50,000 U.S. troops are deployed across Japan under a post-World War II bilateral security pact.
Pacific Daily News reporter Amritha Alladi contributed to this report.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Japan to allot buildup costs in its fiscal budget
Japan to allot buildup costs in its fiscal budget
Pacific Daily News • December 9, 2009
Japan will earmark in its fiscal 2010 budget expenses related to the relocation of a U.S. military airfield in Okinawa and the transfer of 8,000 Marines to Guam, an Agence France Presse report stated, citing Japan Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa.
"Prime Minister (Yukio Hatoyama) has approved the allocation," which is required under a 2006 bilateral accord on the reconfiguration of U.S. forces, the minister said in the AFP report. The move suggests Tokyo is attempting to assuage Washington's concerns over the base relocation, which has grown into a bilateral row.
Kitazawa's announcement comes a day before his trip to Guam. He was scheduled to arrive last night.
The Japan-U.S. pact stipulates the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in a crowded residential area of Ginowan will be moved to the less densely populated city of Nago in Okinawa by 2014.
But Hatoyama pledged during election campaigning before his Democratic Party of Japan came to power in September that he will seek to move the Futenma facility out of Okinawa.
The premier has recently indicated the government may not draw a conclusion on where to relocate the Futenma base until next year, the AFP report stated. He said Monday the country would inform the United States of its policy by Dec. 18, when he may meet with U.S. President Barack Obama in Copenhagen.
In a press conference, Kitazawa said about 50 billion yen will be earmarked for the Marines' transfer to Guam in Japan's fiscal 2010 budget, and that he will visit the island to inspect Andersen Air Force Base and other military installations.
The defense chief said more than 30 billion yen has already been earmarked in the fiscal 2009 budget for the Marines' transfer to Guam and that his three-day visit to the Pacific island is intended to examine how the project to build new accommodation facilities has been getting on there, the report stated.
Pacific Daily News • December 9, 2009
Japan will earmark in its fiscal 2010 budget expenses related to the relocation of a U.S. military airfield in Okinawa and the transfer of 8,000 Marines to Guam, an Agence France Presse report stated, citing Japan Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa.
"Prime Minister (Yukio Hatoyama) has approved the allocation," which is required under a 2006 bilateral accord on the reconfiguration of U.S. forces, the minister said in the AFP report. The move suggests Tokyo is attempting to assuage Washington's concerns over the base relocation, which has grown into a bilateral row.
Kitazawa's announcement comes a day before his trip to Guam. He was scheduled to arrive last night.
The Japan-U.S. pact stipulates the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in a crowded residential area of Ginowan will be moved to the less densely populated city of Nago in Okinawa by 2014.
But Hatoyama pledged during election campaigning before his Democratic Party of Japan came to power in September that he will seek to move the Futenma facility out of Okinawa.
The premier has recently indicated the government may not draw a conclusion on where to relocate the Futenma base until next year, the AFP report stated. He said Monday the country would inform the United States of its policy by Dec. 18, when he may meet with U.S. President Barack Obama in Copenhagen.
In a press conference, Kitazawa said about 50 billion yen will be earmarked for the Marines' transfer to Guam in Japan's fiscal 2010 budget, and that he will visit the island to inspect Andersen Air Force Base and other military installations.
The defense chief said more than 30 billion yen has already been earmarked in the fiscal 2009 budget for the Marines' transfer to Guam and that his three-day visit to the Pacific island is intended to examine how the project to build new accommodation facilities has been getting on there, the report stated.
Monday, December 07, 2009
FOCUS: Okada's visit irks Okinawans as fate of U.S. base remains uncertain
FOCUS: Okada's visit irks Okinawans as fate of U.S. base remains uncertain
December 06 2009 18:21
NAHA, Dec. 6 KYODO
Following a weekend visit to Okinawa by Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada that succeeded in upsetting locals, it remains far from clear how Japan will settle the thorny issue of where to relocate a key U.S. military airfield in the southernmost prefecture.
While Okada was desperate to gain understanding of the difficult situation he finds himself in as he reviews an existing Japan-U.S. accord to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futemma within the prefecture, he did not endear himself to local residents who attended a gathering to exchange opinions with the foreign minister on Saturday.
''I don't think there was any point to this meeting...the minister probably just wanted an alibi so he could say he had listened to the people,'' Ikuo Nishikawa, 65, who runs a hardware store, said after attending the one-hour gathering.
The event was held in the city of Nago, where Futemma's helicopter functions are expected to be relocated under the accord reached between Japan and the United States in 2006. It was arranged by a ruling Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker in line with Okada's wish to listen to ''each citizen's voice'' and not just local leaders. About 100 people took part.
The city of Nago a decade ago agreed to become the planned relocation site for Futemma in order remove the potential danger faced by residents of Ginowan, adjacent to the Futemma base.
But the launch of the DPJ-led government in September has raised hopes among people in Okinawa that the government may seek to move the facility outside the prefecture altogether, since the DPJ has advocated this before winning the Aug. 30 House of Representatives election.
However, Okada started off the meeting with Nago residents by saying that the DPJ's election manifesto did not specifically promise that the Futemma facility would be relocated outside of the prefecture, although it did make reference to reexamining the realignment of U.S. military forces in Japan.
He then went on to say how tough the current situation is, noting that the United States has consistently urged Japan to abide by the 2006 accord. He also said that resolving the issue by the year-end no longer appears easy and referred to the recent threat by the Social Democratic Party to leave the three-party ruling coalition if the government decides to abide by the existing accord.
''I came here with hope and expectations, but now I'm dismayed,'' Nishikawa from Nago's Henoko area said.
''I told the minister how much I expected from the launch of a DPJ government and how local residents have had a hard time (over the issue)...but the minister just said that the situation is tough, and he gave the same answer even to other questions,'' Nishikawa said.
Other participants, clearly irritated by what could be taken as Okada's efforts to get local residents to accept the existing plan, shouted, ''Why don't you decide at an early date to move the facility out the prefecture?'' and ''Are you going to sacrifice Okinawa?''
Meanwhile, outside the public hall, members of civic groups complained that the event was a closed-door meeting, thus limiting the number of people who could take part.
According to the event's organizers, participants in the meeting -- the first 10 minutes of which were open to the media -- were rank-and-file DPJ members.
Yoshitami Oshiro, a 69-year-old Nago city assembly member, criticized Okada for ''mostly making excuses'' in the meeting and said, ''I wonder what he came for.''
Denny Tamaki, the DPJ lawmaker who arranged the meeting, stressed the significance of having Okada directly hear the voices of Okinawa citizens, but admitted that he did not know how the minister would reflect the opinions he had heard in the discussion process with the United States and with other Japanese ministers.
The citizens' meeting was not the only event that day at which Okada's attitude drew criticism.
In the morning, Ginowan Mayor Yoichi Iha told reporters about a meeting with Okada to discuss the relocation issue.
''The minister was quite irritated...because what I said was different from his idea,'' Iha said. ''I felt as if I was being accused.''
''I also got the impression that the minister is being cornered,'' he added.
Okada, for his part, made no attempt to conceal his discomfort during a press conference Saturday in the city of Naha before returning to Tokyo.
''I am not sure whether I can say with confidence how much the relationship of trust between Japan and the United States will be maintained in the event that we cannot realize the (existing) Japan-U.S. agreement,'' he said.
''There have been doubts as to whether the issue can be settled by the end of the year and it has become a real problem. So, as a foreign minister, I must break the stalemate,'' he said, without elaborating on what he has in mind.
He also indicated to a local daily the same day that he will drop the idea of moving the Futemma facility to the nearby Kadena Air Base -- the option he had floated as a possible alternative to the existing Japan-U.S. agreement.
Negotiations with the United States over the issue ''are reaching their limit,'' he was quoted as saying.
While Okada urged Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama during the press conference to come to an early decision on the issue, possibly in line with the existing plan, officials close to Hatoyama are still talking tough.
''There is no need to be afraid of the United States. It was impossible in the first place to settle the issue by the end of the year,'' a government source said.
Under the 2006 deal, Tokyo and Washington agreed to transfer the Futemma air station to the coastal area of the Henoko district in Nago by 2014. The deal also includes the transfer of around 8,000 Marines to Guam from Okinawa.
==Kyodo
December 06 2009 18:21
NAHA, Dec. 6 KYODO
Following a weekend visit to Okinawa by Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada that succeeded in upsetting locals, it remains far from clear how Japan will settle the thorny issue of where to relocate a key U.S. military airfield in the southernmost prefecture.
While Okada was desperate to gain understanding of the difficult situation he finds himself in as he reviews an existing Japan-U.S. accord to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futemma within the prefecture, he did not endear himself to local residents who attended a gathering to exchange opinions with the foreign minister on Saturday.
''I don't think there was any point to this meeting...the minister probably just wanted an alibi so he could say he had listened to the people,'' Ikuo Nishikawa, 65, who runs a hardware store, said after attending the one-hour gathering.
The event was held in the city of Nago, where Futemma's helicopter functions are expected to be relocated under the accord reached between Japan and the United States in 2006. It was arranged by a ruling Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker in line with Okada's wish to listen to ''each citizen's voice'' and not just local leaders. About 100 people took part.
The city of Nago a decade ago agreed to become the planned relocation site for Futemma in order remove the potential danger faced by residents of Ginowan, adjacent to the Futemma base.
But the launch of the DPJ-led government in September has raised hopes among people in Okinawa that the government may seek to move the facility outside the prefecture altogether, since the DPJ has advocated this before winning the Aug. 30 House of Representatives election.
However, Okada started off the meeting with Nago residents by saying that the DPJ's election manifesto did not specifically promise that the Futemma facility would be relocated outside of the prefecture, although it did make reference to reexamining the realignment of U.S. military forces in Japan.
He then went on to say how tough the current situation is, noting that the United States has consistently urged Japan to abide by the 2006 accord. He also said that resolving the issue by the year-end no longer appears easy and referred to the recent threat by the Social Democratic Party to leave the three-party ruling coalition if the government decides to abide by the existing accord.
''I came here with hope and expectations, but now I'm dismayed,'' Nishikawa from Nago's Henoko area said.
''I told the minister how much I expected from the launch of a DPJ government and how local residents have had a hard time (over the issue)...but the minister just said that the situation is tough, and he gave the same answer even to other questions,'' Nishikawa said.
Other participants, clearly irritated by what could be taken as Okada's efforts to get local residents to accept the existing plan, shouted, ''Why don't you decide at an early date to move the facility out the prefecture?'' and ''Are you going to sacrifice Okinawa?''
Meanwhile, outside the public hall, members of civic groups complained that the event was a closed-door meeting, thus limiting the number of people who could take part.
According to the event's organizers, participants in the meeting -- the first 10 minutes of which were open to the media -- were rank-and-file DPJ members.
Yoshitami Oshiro, a 69-year-old Nago city assembly member, criticized Okada for ''mostly making excuses'' in the meeting and said, ''I wonder what he came for.''
Denny Tamaki, the DPJ lawmaker who arranged the meeting, stressed the significance of having Okada directly hear the voices of Okinawa citizens, but admitted that he did not know how the minister would reflect the opinions he had heard in the discussion process with the United States and with other Japanese ministers.
The citizens' meeting was not the only event that day at which Okada's attitude drew criticism.
In the morning, Ginowan Mayor Yoichi Iha told reporters about a meeting with Okada to discuss the relocation issue.
''The minister was quite irritated...because what I said was different from his idea,'' Iha said. ''I felt as if I was being accused.''
''I also got the impression that the minister is being cornered,'' he added.
Okada, for his part, made no attempt to conceal his discomfort during a press conference Saturday in the city of Naha before returning to Tokyo.
''I am not sure whether I can say with confidence how much the relationship of trust between Japan and the United States will be maintained in the event that we cannot realize the (existing) Japan-U.S. agreement,'' he said.
''There have been doubts as to whether the issue can be settled by the end of the year and it has become a real problem. So, as a foreign minister, I must break the stalemate,'' he said, without elaborating on what he has in mind.
He also indicated to a local daily the same day that he will drop the idea of moving the Futemma facility to the nearby Kadena Air Base -- the option he had floated as a possible alternative to the existing Japan-U.S. agreement.
Negotiations with the United States over the issue ''are reaching their limit,'' he was quoted as saying.
While Okada urged Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama during the press conference to come to an early decision on the issue, possibly in line with the existing plan, officials close to Hatoyama are still talking tough.
''There is no need to be afraid of the United States. It was impossible in the first place to settle the issue by the end of the year,'' a government source said.
Under the 2006 deal, Tokyo and Washington agreed to transfer the Futemma air station to the coastal area of the Henoko district in Nago by 2014. The deal also includes the transfer of around 8,000 Marines to Guam from Okinawa.
==Kyodo
FOCUS: Ozawa's power, Hatoyama's ulterior motives lie behind Futemma delay
FOCUS: Ozawa's power, Hatoyama's ulterior motives lie behind Futemma delay
December 05 2009 16:27
TOKYO, Dec. 5 KYODO
Behind Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's indecisiveness on the future of a U.S. military base in Okinawa Prefecture seems to be the firm determination of his former boss, Ichiro Ozawa, to keep a grip on parliament and even a bigger ulterior motive of the two politicians.
Hatoyama, head of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, has put on hold a decision on where to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station, as the leader of a junior partner in the coalition has threatened to leave it if the DPJ goes ahead and moves the base within the prefecture under the existing Japan-U.S. deal.
The threat by Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima came as Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa were seeking to solve the relocation issue by the end of this year.
Hatoyama is putting more weight on maintaining power in parliament over the already soured relationship with Washington, which has pressed Japan to resolve it quickly and move the Futemma base in line with the accord.
The DPJ, which won a landslide victory in the August election for the House of Representatives, had to form a coalition with two small partners despite differences over security and foreign policies, as it needs their cooperation in the House of Councillors.
Speculation is now growing that a decision on the U.S. base issue will not be made until after next year's upper house election, in which the DPJ is widely expected to secure a majority and it can decisively break off what appears to be an awkward coalition.
Political observers say that behind the delay is DPJ Secretary General Ozawa who is widely believed to have wielded his influence behind the scenes over the Hatoyama government since its launch in mid-September.
According to sources close to Ozawa, he has pressured the prime minister's office and Defense Minister Kitazawa to deal with the relocation issue in a way that would not result in the collapse of the coalition.
At the upper house, the DPJ currently holds less than a majority and needs to join hands with the two parties -- the SDP and the People's New Party -- to ensure smooth passage of legislation.
Eiken Itagaki, an independent political analyst who is well-versed in DPJ politics, said that Ozawa warned that the government needs to avoid what the previous Liberal Democratic Party-led government had gone through in a divided parliament.
But there is also a view among some pundits that Hatoyama simply used the coalition partner's threat as a reason for delaying a decision, as he himself hopes to move not just the Futemma air station but also the entire U.S. military facility outside Okinawa or even outside the country and wanted to take time to find a better solution.
Since the DPJ was in the opposition camp, Hatoyama has repeatedly made comments to that effect.
''I truly wonder if it is appropriate that a military of another country will continue to station in this country forever,'' he said a few weeks after taking office in mid-September.
Kazuhiro Asano, professor in politics at Sapporo University, said should the DPJ kick the SDP out of the coalition after the election, ''I don't think Prime Minister Hatoyama will decide to move the Futemma facility to Henoko.''
Under the 2006 deal, Tokyo and Washington agreed to transfer the Futemma air station, which currently sits in the center of a residential area in the city of Ginowan, to the coastal area of the Henoko district in Nago, another Okinawa city, by 2014.
Hatoyama has indicated that he wants to wait and see the results of the Nago city mayoral election scheduled for January to determine the will of local voters before making any decision on the relocation.
''He is looking for evidence and reasons that would help him decide to move the base outside the prefecture,'' Asano of Sapporo University said.
Ozawa, a former DPJ chief, is also against hosting another country's military in Japan and once advocated for the stationing of a United Nations-sponsored military for the defense of the country.
Itagaki said both Ozawa and Hatoyama are truly seeking a foreign policy stance that depends less on the United States and more on close relationships with such other countries as China and Russia, as promised in the party's campaign pledges.
Ozawa has once expressed the view that the role of the U.S. military in Japan should be trimmed down, saying the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet based in Yokosuka would be ''enough for the U.S. presence in the Far East.''
At the bottom of it, the foreign policy that Ozawa and Hatoyama are pursuing over a long term is not so different from that of Fukushima, chief of the pacifist, leftist SDP, the analyst said, suggesting that the DPJ may end up keeping the party in the coalition even after the upper house election.
Recently floated ideas include transferring the Futemma facility to the U.S. territory of Guam, a Japanese coastal airport or a remote island, according to several government sources.
December 05 2009 16:27
TOKYO, Dec. 5 KYODO
Behind Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's indecisiveness on the future of a U.S. military base in Okinawa Prefecture seems to be the firm determination of his former boss, Ichiro Ozawa, to keep a grip on parliament and even a bigger ulterior motive of the two politicians.
Hatoyama, head of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, has put on hold a decision on where to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station, as the leader of a junior partner in the coalition has threatened to leave it if the DPJ goes ahead and moves the base within the prefecture under the existing Japan-U.S. deal.
The threat by Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima came as Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa were seeking to solve the relocation issue by the end of this year.
Hatoyama is putting more weight on maintaining power in parliament over the already soured relationship with Washington, which has pressed Japan to resolve it quickly and move the Futemma base in line with the accord.
The DPJ, which won a landslide victory in the August election for the House of Representatives, had to form a coalition with two small partners despite differences over security and foreign policies, as it needs their cooperation in the House of Councillors.
Speculation is now growing that a decision on the U.S. base issue will not be made until after next year's upper house election, in which the DPJ is widely expected to secure a majority and it can decisively break off what appears to be an awkward coalition.
Political observers say that behind the delay is DPJ Secretary General Ozawa who is widely believed to have wielded his influence behind the scenes over the Hatoyama government since its launch in mid-September.
According to sources close to Ozawa, he has pressured the prime minister's office and Defense Minister Kitazawa to deal with the relocation issue in a way that would not result in the collapse of the coalition.
At the upper house, the DPJ currently holds less than a majority and needs to join hands with the two parties -- the SDP and the People's New Party -- to ensure smooth passage of legislation.
Eiken Itagaki, an independent political analyst who is well-versed in DPJ politics, said that Ozawa warned that the government needs to avoid what the previous Liberal Democratic Party-led government had gone through in a divided parliament.
But there is also a view among some pundits that Hatoyama simply used the coalition partner's threat as a reason for delaying a decision, as he himself hopes to move not just the Futemma air station but also the entire U.S. military facility outside Okinawa or even outside the country and wanted to take time to find a better solution.
Since the DPJ was in the opposition camp, Hatoyama has repeatedly made comments to that effect.
''I truly wonder if it is appropriate that a military of another country will continue to station in this country forever,'' he said a few weeks after taking office in mid-September.
Kazuhiro Asano, professor in politics at Sapporo University, said should the DPJ kick the SDP out of the coalition after the election, ''I don't think Prime Minister Hatoyama will decide to move the Futemma facility to Henoko.''
Under the 2006 deal, Tokyo and Washington agreed to transfer the Futemma air station, which currently sits in the center of a residential area in the city of Ginowan, to the coastal area of the Henoko district in Nago, another Okinawa city, by 2014.
Hatoyama has indicated that he wants to wait and see the results of the Nago city mayoral election scheduled for January to determine the will of local voters before making any decision on the relocation.
''He is looking for evidence and reasons that would help him decide to move the base outside the prefecture,'' Asano of Sapporo University said.
Ozawa, a former DPJ chief, is also against hosting another country's military in Japan and once advocated for the stationing of a United Nations-sponsored military for the defense of the country.
Itagaki said both Ozawa and Hatoyama are truly seeking a foreign policy stance that depends less on the United States and more on close relationships with such other countries as China and Russia, as promised in the party's campaign pledges.
Ozawa has once expressed the view that the role of the U.S. military in Japan should be trimmed down, saying the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet based in Yokosuka would be ''enough for the U.S. presence in the Far East.''
At the bottom of it, the foreign policy that Ozawa and Hatoyama are pursuing over a long term is not so different from that of Fukushima, chief of the pacifist, leftist SDP, the analyst said, suggesting that the DPJ may end up keeping the party in the coalition even after the upper house election.
Recently floated ideas include transferring the Futemma facility to the U.S. territory of Guam, a Japanese coastal airport or a remote island, according to several government sources.
U.S. dismisses base issue's adverse impact on ties with Japan
U.S. dismisses base issue's adverse impact on ties with Japan
Dec 4 04:01 PM US/Eastern
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (AP) - (Kyodo) — The United States brushed aside concerns that a row with Japan over where to relocate a major U.S. military airfield in Okinawa Prefecture could have decisively detrimental effects on overall relations between the two allies.
"I think our relationship is just so broad and so deep...We of course have expressed what our concerns are. But we have a mature relationship with Japan. They are one of our most important allies," a senior State Department official told reporters.
The remarks came after the United States voiced concerns Friday as Japan appears unable to draw a conclusion on where the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station should go by the year-end.
At a minister-level working group meeting on the Futemma base transfer, the United States warned that if no decision is made by the Japanese government on the matter soon, the situation will get worse and adversely affect the entire package of a 2006 Japan-U.S. accord on U.S. forces realignment, Japanese officials said.
The working group was set up to quickly find a solution to the thorny issue of where to relocate the Futemma airfield, and both Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa had stressed the need to settle the matter by the year-end.
Under the 2006 agreement, heliport functions of the Futemma facility, which sits in a crowded residential area in Ginowan, central Okinawa, will be moved to the Marines' Camp Schwab in the less populated city of Nago, northern Okinawa, by 2014.
The accord also involves transferring 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam.
Dec 4 04:01 PM US/Eastern
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (AP) - (Kyodo) — The United States brushed aside concerns that a row with Japan over where to relocate a major U.S. military airfield in Okinawa Prefecture could have decisively detrimental effects on overall relations between the two allies.
"I think our relationship is just so broad and so deep...We of course have expressed what our concerns are. But we have a mature relationship with Japan. They are one of our most important allies," a senior State Department official told reporters.
The remarks came after the United States voiced concerns Friday as Japan appears unable to draw a conclusion on where the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station should go by the year-end.
At a minister-level working group meeting on the Futemma base transfer, the United States warned that if no decision is made by the Japanese government on the matter soon, the situation will get worse and adversely affect the entire package of a 2006 Japan-U.S. accord on U.S. forces realignment, Japanese officials said.
The working group was set up to quickly find a solution to the thorny issue of where to relocate the Futemma airfield, and both Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa had stressed the need to settle the matter by the year-end.
Under the 2006 agreement, heliport functions of the Futemma facility, which sits in a crowded residential area in Ginowan, central Okinawa, will be moved to the Marines' Camp Schwab in the less populated city of Nago, northern Okinawa, by 2014.
The accord also involves transferring 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam.
Friday, December 04, 2009
No decision on Futenma this year
No decision on Futenma this year
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
2009/12/4
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's delayed decision on where to relocate a U.S. military base has become a dilemma over whether to anger Japan's most important ally or risk losing a key ruling coalition partner.
For now, the Cabinet appears set to delay a decision on moving the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, now in densely populated Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, until next year.
Pressed by reporters Thursday on the Futenma issue, Hatoyama said, "None of us said we should decide by the year-end."
Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, raised the stakes Thursday when she said she will not rule out the possibility of taking her party out of the coalition if the government decides to relocate the Futenma airfield to Nago, northern Okinawa Prefecture, as initially planned.
"If the Cabinet decides to build a base along the coastline of (Nago's) Henoko district, I have to make a grave decision for the SDP and myself," Fukushima told a meeting of party executives.
Hatoyama later told reporters that the government "has to take (Fukushima's remark) seriously." He had earlier said his efforts to maintain the coalition government remains unchanged.
During a speech Wednesday, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said, "Breaking the three-party coalition Cabinet would throw the political scene into turmoil."
He added that a delay in deciding where to relocate the Futenma air station would not lead to "extreme" unease in Japan-U.S. relations.
Washington has demanded that Japan follow a 2006 agreement to relocate the Futenma airfield to Nago.
The SDP and the other junior coalition partner, the People's New Party, are opposed to any relocation decision this month. They want more deliberations on the issue.
During the campaign for the Aug. 30 Lower House election, the DPJ told voters it would try to relocate the Futenma airfield out of the prefecture or out of Japan.
Following the DPJ's victory in that election, residents in Okinawa Prefecture have heightened their demands that the air station be moved outside the prefecture.
The central government plans to allocate money in the fiscal 2010 budget for expenses related to the relocation to Nago. Tokyo wants to show Washington that Japan is not repealing the May 2006 bilateral accord on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, which includes the Futenma relocation to Nago and the transfer of thousands of Marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam.
Although Fukushima's tough line delivered Thursday was seen as an attempt to maintain party unity and ensure her re-election as SDP chief today, the loss of the SDP would deprive the ruling coalition of a majority in the Upper House.
The SDP's Okinawa prefectural chapter, frustrated at Fukushima's somewhat vague stance on U.S. military bases in Okinawa Prefecture, had planned to field Lower House member Kantoku Teruya. But Teruya was not expected to run in the party election following Fukushima's remark Thursday.
Since its days in opposition, the SDP has called for the Futenma airfield to be moved outside of Okinawa or Japan.
Cabinet ministers involved in the Futenma issue and DPJ leaders have been discussing the matter since late November. DPJ leaders are apparently concerned that harming the unity of the coalition by hastily deciding on the Futenma problem would make it difficult for the party to steer the Diet's ordinary session that starts in January.
"The current has totally changed," one of the Cabinet ministers said.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Kitazawa held long talks with Hatoyama and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano at the Prime Minister's Official Residence.
In another meeting of Cabinet ministers, everybody--with the exception of Okada--agreed that resolving the issue by the end of this year would be difficult.
(IHT/Asahi: December 4,2009)
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
2009/12/4
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's delayed decision on where to relocate a U.S. military base has become a dilemma over whether to anger Japan's most important ally or risk losing a key ruling coalition partner.
For now, the Cabinet appears set to delay a decision on moving the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, now in densely populated Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, until next year.
Pressed by reporters Thursday on the Futenma issue, Hatoyama said, "None of us said we should decide by the year-end."
Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, raised the stakes Thursday when she said she will not rule out the possibility of taking her party out of the coalition if the government decides to relocate the Futenma airfield to Nago, northern Okinawa Prefecture, as initially planned.
"If the Cabinet decides to build a base along the coastline of (Nago's) Henoko district, I have to make a grave decision for the SDP and myself," Fukushima told a meeting of party executives.
Hatoyama later told reporters that the government "has to take (Fukushima's remark) seriously." He had earlier said his efforts to maintain the coalition government remains unchanged.
During a speech Wednesday, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said, "Breaking the three-party coalition Cabinet would throw the political scene into turmoil."
He added that a delay in deciding where to relocate the Futenma air station would not lead to "extreme" unease in Japan-U.S. relations.
Washington has demanded that Japan follow a 2006 agreement to relocate the Futenma airfield to Nago.
The SDP and the other junior coalition partner, the People's New Party, are opposed to any relocation decision this month. They want more deliberations on the issue.
During the campaign for the Aug. 30 Lower House election, the DPJ told voters it would try to relocate the Futenma airfield out of the prefecture or out of Japan.
Following the DPJ's victory in that election, residents in Okinawa Prefecture have heightened their demands that the air station be moved outside the prefecture.
The central government plans to allocate money in the fiscal 2010 budget for expenses related to the relocation to Nago. Tokyo wants to show Washington that Japan is not repealing the May 2006 bilateral accord on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, which includes the Futenma relocation to Nago and the transfer of thousands of Marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam.
Although Fukushima's tough line delivered Thursday was seen as an attempt to maintain party unity and ensure her re-election as SDP chief today, the loss of the SDP would deprive the ruling coalition of a majority in the Upper House.
The SDP's Okinawa prefectural chapter, frustrated at Fukushima's somewhat vague stance on U.S. military bases in Okinawa Prefecture, had planned to field Lower House member Kantoku Teruya. But Teruya was not expected to run in the party election following Fukushima's remark Thursday.
Since its days in opposition, the SDP has called for the Futenma airfield to be moved outside of Okinawa or Japan.
Cabinet ministers involved in the Futenma issue and DPJ leaders have been discussing the matter since late November. DPJ leaders are apparently concerned that harming the unity of the coalition by hastily deciding on the Futenma problem would make it difficult for the party to steer the Diet's ordinary session that starts in January.
"The current has totally changed," one of the Cabinet ministers said.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Kitazawa held long talks with Hatoyama and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano at the Prime Minister's Official Residence.
In another meeting of Cabinet ministers, everybody--with the exception of Okada--agreed that resolving the issue by the end of this year would be difficult.
(IHT/Asahi: December 4,2009)
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Envoy: U.S. working hard to resolve Futenma issues
Envoy: U.S. working hard to resolve Futenma issues
By David Allen and Chiyomi Sumida, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, December 2, 2009
NAHA, Okinawa — Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima wants air operations at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to start being phased out as soon as possible, regardless of the ongoing review of the overall 2006 military realignment plan.
Nakima delivered the same message in separate meetings Monday — in Tokyo with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and later on Okinawa with U.S. Ambassador John Roos.
He handed Hatoyama a formal request urging him to develop a “clear and concrete policy in order to remove the danger posed by the air operations at the earliest possible date.”
“It is a matter of urgency to relieve the residents from the fear of aircraft accidents and noise pollution,” he wrote. “Okinawa voices are growing to demand the operation be moved outside Okinawa.”
The sweeping 2006 realignment plan calls, in part, for relocating Futenma’s air operations in urban Ginowan to a new air facility to be built at rural Camp Schwab. But Japan’s new government, which took office in September, promptly began calls for reviewing the project.
In meeting with Nakaima, Roos indicated that he still believed replacing MCAS Futenma with the Camp Schwab air facility was the best option. The U.S. has long said the project is the linchpin that will eventually allow more than 8,000 Marines to be moved off Okinawa to Guam.
“As you know, the United States believes that the Futenma replacement is the sole, the best and only viable option,” Roos told the governor at a meeting in Naha open to the press. “We are working through the issues.”
In the past, Nakaima said he supported the move to Camp Schwab because he thought it was a done deal. He has recently said he prefers the Marines to move its air operations off his island.
Hatoyama’s ministers have been divided on the issue — some have called for scrapping the relocation agreement and moving Marine air operations outside Okinawa, while others suggested adjustments be made in the current plan or that the Marines move air operations to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa. U.S. officials have previously dismissed the Kadena option as unworkable.
Hatoyama told the governor that a decision on Futenma will be made through ongoing talks between the U.S. and Japan in a working group. He did not indicate a deadline, according to Okinawa officials.
During the Naha meeting, Nakaima asked Roos, who is a member of the working group, when they might complete their review.
Pausing a moment, Roos replied, “As soon as possible,” drawing laughter from the press and others in the room.
“We are working diligently to resolve the issue.”
By David Allen and Chiyomi Sumida, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, December 2, 2009
NAHA, Okinawa — Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima wants air operations at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to start being phased out as soon as possible, regardless of the ongoing review of the overall 2006 military realignment plan.
Nakima delivered the same message in separate meetings Monday — in Tokyo with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and later on Okinawa with U.S. Ambassador John Roos.
He handed Hatoyama a formal request urging him to develop a “clear and concrete policy in order to remove the danger posed by the air operations at the earliest possible date.”
“It is a matter of urgency to relieve the residents from the fear of aircraft accidents and noise pollution,” he wrote. “Okinawa voices are growing to demand the operation be moved outside Okinawa.”
The sweeping 2006 realignment plan calls, in part, for relocating Futenma’s air operations in urban Ginowan to a new air facility to be built at rural Camp Schwab. But Japan’s new government, which took office in September, promptly began calls for reviewing the project.
In meeting with Nakaima, Roos indicated that he still believed replacing MCAS Futenma with the Camp Schwab air facility was the best option. The U.S. has long said the project is the linchpin that will eventually allow more than 8,000 Marines to be moved off Okinawa to Guam.
“As you know, the United States believes that the Futenma replacement is the sole, the best and only viable option,” Roos told the governor at a meeting in Naha open to the press. “We are working through the issues.”
In the past, Nakaima said he supported the move to Camp Schwab because he thought it was a done deal. He has recently said he prefers the Marines to move its air operations off his island.
Hatoyama’s ministers have been divided on the issue — some have called for scrapping the relocation agreement and moving Marine air operations outside Okinawa, while others suggested adjustments be made in the current plan or that the Marines move air operations to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa. U.S. officials have previously dismissed the Kadena option as unworkable.
Hatoyama told the governor that a decision on Futenma will be made through ongoing talks between the U.S. and Japan in a working group. He did not indicate a deadline, according to Okinawa officials.
During the Naha meeting, Nakaima asked Roos, who is a member of the working group, when they might complete their review.
Pausing a moment, Roos replied, “As soon as possible,” drawing laughter from the press and others in the room.
“We are working diligently to resolve the issue.”
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Envoy: U.S. working hard to resolve Futenma issues
Envoy: U.S. working hard to resolve Futenma issues
By David Allen and Chiyomi Sumida, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, December 2, 2009
NAHA, Okinawa — Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima wants air operations at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to start being phased out as soon as possible, regardless of the ongoing review of the overall 2006 military realignment plan.
Nakima delivered the same message in separate meetings Monday — in Tokyo with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and later on Okinawa with U.S. Ambassador John Roos.
He handed Hatoyama a formal request urging him to develop a “clear and concrete policy in order to remove the danger posed by the air operations at the earliest possible date.”
“It is a matter of urgency to relieve the residents from the fear of aircraft accidents and noise pollution,” he wrote. “Okinawa voices are growing to demand the operation be moved outside Okinawa.”
The sweeping 2006 realignment plan calls, in part, for relocating Futenma’s air operations in urban Ginowan to a new air facility to be built at rural Camp Schwab. But Japan’s new government, which took office in September, promptly began calls for reviewing the project.
In meeting with Nakaima, Roos indicated that he still believed replacing MCAS Futenma with the Camp Schwab air facility was the best option. The U.S. has long said the project is the linchpin that will eventually allow more than 8,000 Marines to be moved off Okinawa to Guam.
“As you know, the United States believes that the Futenma replacement is the sole, the best and only viable option,” Roos told the governor at a meeting in Naha open to the press. “We are working through the issues.”
In the past, Nakaima said he supported the move to Camp Schwab because he thought it was a done deal. He has recently said he prefers the Marines to move its air operations off his island.
Hatoyama’s ministers have been divided on the issue — some have called for scrapping the relocation agreement and moving Marine air operations outside Okinawa, while others suggested adjustments be made in the current plan or that the Marines move air operations to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa. U.S. officials have previously dismissed the Kadena option as unworkable.
Hatoyama told the governor that a decision on Futenma will be made through ongoing talks between the U.S. and Japan in a working group. He did not indicate a deadline, according to Okinawa officials.
During the Naha meeting, Nakaima asked Roos, who is a member of the working group, when they might complete their review.
Pausing a moment, Roos replied, “As soon as possible,” drawing laughter from the press and others in the room.
“We are working diligently to resolve the issue.”
By David Allen and Chiyomi Sumida, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, December 2, 2009
NAHA, Okinawa — Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima wants air operations at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to start being phased out as soon as possible, regardless of the ongoing review of the overall 2006 military realignment plan.
Nakima delivered the same message in separate meetings Monday — in Tokyo with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and later on Okinawa with U.S. Ambassador John Roos.
He handed Hatoyama a formal request urging him to develop a “clear and concrete policy in order to remove the danger posed by the air operations at the earliest possible date.”
“It is a matter of urgency to relieve the residents from the fear of aircraft accidents and noise pollution,” he wrote. “Okinawa voices are growing to demand the operation be moved outside Okinawa.”
The sweeping 2006 realignment plan calls, in part, for relocating Futenma’s air operations in urban Ginowan to a new air facility to be built at rural Camp Schwab. But Japan’s new government, which took office in September, promptly began calls for reviewing the project.
In meeting with Nakaima, Roos indicated that he still believed replacing MCAS Futenma with the Camp Schwab air facility was the best option. The U.S. has long said the project is the linchpin that will eventually allow more than 8,000 Marines to be moved off Okinawa to Guam.
“As you know, the United States believes that the Futenma replacement is the sole, the best and only viable option,” Roos told the governor at a meeting in Naha open to the press. “We are working through the issues.”
In the past, Nakaima said he supported the move to Camp Schwab because he thought it was a done deal. He has recently said he prefers the Marines to move its air operations off his island.
Hatoyama’s ministers have been divided on the issue — some have called for scrapping the relocation agreement and moving Marine air operations outside Okinawa, while others suggested adjustments be made in the current plan or that the Marines move air operations to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa. U.S. officials have previously dismissed the Kadena option as unworkable.
Hatoyama told the governor that a decision on Futenma will be made through ongoing talks between the U.S. and Japan in a working group. He did not indicate a deadline, according to Okinawa officials.
During the Naha meeting, Nakaima asked Roos, who is a member of the working group, when they might complete their review.
Pausing a moment, Roos replied, “As soon as possible,” drawing laughter from the press and others in the room.
“We are working diligently to resolve the issue.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)