Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Kyodo News
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama indicated Monday his administration won't be able to come up with a single proposal for the relocation of the Futenma U.S. military base by Wednesday, saying it is not legally bound to do so.
Hatoyama's remarks came shortly after Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada indicated prior to talks Monday with Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Washington that Japan doesn't have to narrow its proposals down to one before it begins negotiating with the United States in earnest.
"There is no legal basis on which we must come up with a government proposal within this month," Hatoyama said, backpedaling on an earlier promise to come up with a plan by the end of March.
The administration is mulling several alternatives to the existing plan to relocate the Futenma airfield within Okinawa Prefecture, with Hatoyama promising to resolve the issue by the end of May.
Hatoyama said the government will come up with one proposal soon because only about two months are left before the end of May.
"It may be natural for there to be several proposals at the beginning," he said. "But there can't be multiple ones as (the government) negotiates and puts together (a deal) over a government plan in the end."
The opposition was quick denounce Hatoyama's remarks, with Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Tadamori Oshima demanding his resignation.
"The prime minister's words change every day," Oshima told reporters. "I suggest that he step down."
The U.S. has called on Japan to follow through on the existing plan, saying it is the best option. The plan is part of a broader agreement forged in 2006 on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.
The accord, which took years to hammer out, calls for transferring the aircraft operations of the Futenma base, now situated in the crowded city of Ginowan, to Camp Schwab's Henoko coast.
Once the replacement base is operational, 8,000 marines are to be relocated from Okinawa to Guam.
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