'Japan-US deal on US forces realignment difficult to scrap'
Naha: Japanese Foreign Minister
Katsuya Okada said on Monday it would be difficult to "completely
scrap" a 2006 Japan-US accord on the realignment of US forces
in Japan, which includes a plan to relocate the US Marine
Corps' Futemma Air Station within Okinawa.
He made the remarks after meeting strong resistance from
local governments over his idea to consider the nearby US
Kadena Air Base as a possible location to transfer Futemma to
instead of the bilaterally agreed on relocation site.
At a press conference to wrap up his two-day visit to the
southernmost Japanese prefecture, Okada also said it is still
"too early" to talk about the feasibility of the plan to merge
the Futemma facility with the Kadena base.
Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama
reiterated earlier in the day in Tokyo that Japan will engage
in discussions on the Futemma issue with the US in a
high-level working group without seeing as a premise the 2006
accord to transfer the facility to a less densely populated
area in Nago in northern Okinawa.
"If there is only one answer from the beginning, then
there would be no need to discuss between Japan and the United
States," Hatoyama told reporters.
In the wake of his first visit to Okinawa since becoming
foreign minister in September, Okada is expected to accelerate
his study on the feasibility of the Kadena-Futemma merger plan
as he is hoping to settle the issue by the end of the year.
But it is uncertain how Japan can work out a clear policy
on the issue, which is also straining ties with its key
security ally, the US.
Bureau Report