Futenma relocation remains sticky issue

Ryuhei Yoshimura, Satoshi Ogawa and Atsushi Matsuura / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

Less than a month remains before the Aug. 31 deadline for the Japanese and U.S. governments to reach a mutual decision about an alternative facility to take over functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture.

But the Japanese government has not yet been able to narrow down its options to a single plan due to opposition in the prefecture.

As the prefecture's Nov. 28 gubernatorial election is sure to affect the issue, and the election result is hard to predict, there is growing fear that a solution may not be found, and the existing Futenma facility will become essentially permanent.

Seiji Maehara, state minister for Okinawa affairs, held a lunch meeting with Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima in Naha on Sunday. The meeting in a hotel was held by the two alone and lasted for about 50 minutes.

In Okinawa Prefecture, which has had tense relations with the central government for many years, it has been customary that meetings with central government officials are also attended by the governor's aides.

The unprecedented one-on-one meeting indicated that the relationship between the central government and Okinawa Prefecture has grown more delicate.

Currently, the central government has three linked concerns about its relationship with the prefecture. They are the Futenma issue, economic assistance for the prefecture and how to respond to the outcome of the gubernatorial election.

Maehara's visit to the prefecture was officially to exchange opinions with prefectural and municipal governments about economic stimulus measures for the prefecture from fiscal 2012.

But it is essential for the central government to communicate with Okinawa Prefecture as the deadline nears at the end of this month to decide on a specific position and construction method for the alternative facility in the Henoko district of Nago in the prefecture.

In addition, the Futenma issue will be significantly affected by whoever becomes the new Okinawa governor. The central government is paying keen attention to this point.

A government source said that the central government will decide only a rough framework as of the end of this month, based on talks by a Japan-U.S. panel of experts held three times in June and July.

The central government plans to state the construction method should be by reclamation, in principle.

The central government will basically present two options about the layout of the facility. They are a base with a single runway, which the Japanese side proposed in the bilateral expert meetings, and a plan to build two runways in a V shape, which was agreed by the two countries in 2006 under an administration led by the Liberal Democratic Party.

Based on those outlines, the central government plans to later present more detailed options adjusting the distance of the runway from the shore based on noise and other concerns.

On Tuesday and Wednesday last week, Prime Minister Naoto Kan discussed the issue at the Prime Minister's Office for a total of 2-1/2 hours in meetings with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and Maehara.

Government sources said the prime minister was obtaining knowledge about the issue.

However, a Cabinet minister recently said, "Mr. Kan's commitment to the issue is no more than a mere duty he succeeded from [former Prime Minister Yukio] Hatoyama in office," suggesting that Kan has not been personally enthusiastic about the Futenma issue.

One of Kan's aides said that because the prime minister's political influence is waning in the wake of a serious setback in the last House of Councillors election, he wanted to avoid stirring up antipathy in either Okinawa Prefecture or the United States ahead of the DPJ's Sept. 14 leadership election.

Kan's real intention is "to get past the deadline at the end of August as amicably as possible at any cost," the aide said.

A U.S. government source said that when U.S. President Barack Obama visits Japan in November, the Japanese government will be unable to say anything has changed from a year ago, and thus the government should make specific decisions by the end of August at any costs.

It is essential for Japan to present a practical blueprint for the Futenma relocation before Obama's visit, according to the U.S. source.

At the bilateral expert meetings, the U.S. side urged that certain details, such as a construction method, the position of the alternative facility and the number of runways, be decided even if Japan presents two or more options, and that Japan should present details that can be accepted by the U.S. side, the source said.

But the U.S. side was also aware that if Washington places too much pressure on Kan, he may be driven to a corner--possibly resulting in his defeat in the DPJ leadership race.

On July 27, Wallace Gregson, U.S. assistant defense secretary, submitted to the U.S. Congress at a public hearing a document that said the U.S. government expected the meetings of experts will conclude by the end of August as scheduled so a final political decision can be made about the Futenma relocation issue in autumn.

But in reading out the document, Gregson skipped the part mentioning the political decision, apparently because he wanted to avoid having his remark sound like pressure on Japan and be repeatedly reported by media.

If the deadline at the end of August is postponed, the only remaining milestone for the Futenma issue will be Obama's visit in November.

If the Japanese government uses the Okinawa gubernatorial election as a reason to again put off making a final decision, it is increasingly likely that Futenma Air Station will continue to exist as it is, and the controversy surrounding it will remain unresolved.

(Ogawa is a correspondent in Washington.)