SDP eyes 3 plans for Futemma, prioritizing relocation abroad

TOKYO, Feb. 26 Kyodo -
The Social Democratic Party, one of the two junior partners in the governing
coalition, is considering presenting three options to a government committee
studying where to relocate a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa, party sources said
Friday.
The party will put priority on a plan to move the facility entirely outside of
the southernmost prefecture, such as to the U.S. territory of Guam in the
Pacific, as it has called for doing so.
But if that proves difficult to implement, the next best plans will be pursued,
the sources said. They include accommodating drills and bases in Japan.
The SDP is likely to list in the options about 10 domestic locations outside
Okinawa as candidate sites for the drills and bases, the sources said.
But reservations about listing such candidate sites remain within the party.
Local governments that would be asked to accommodate them are also likely to
oppose such options.
The SDP plans are expected to be presented to the panel, chaired by Chief
Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, as the proposals of SDP policy chief Tomoko
Abe, who serves as a panel member.
An existing relocation plan agreed between Japan and the United States
stipulates that Futemma's heliport functions will be transferred to a new
airfield to be built on the coastal area of the Marines' Camp Schwab in Nago,
also in Okinawa.
But Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government is exploring the possibility of
finding an alternative relocation site.
The SDP's No. 1 option will call for relocating Futemma entirely to Guam,
Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands or Saipan, while under the No. 2 option,
the base would be moved to Guam, but drills would be accommodated domestically.
The party's No. 3 option calls for moving the base and drills elsewhere in
Japan, the sources said.
Under the second and third plans, the Futemma facility would be closed down,
but would still be used in emergencies. The use of domestic locations would
also be limited for up to between five and 15 years, with plans to move
everything out of the country eventually.
The other junior coalition partner, the People's New Party, is considering
presenting two plans to the panel, one of which would call for building a new
airfield at the camp without resorting to sea reclamation.
Japan has pledged to come to a final conclusion on the relocation matter by the
end of May, while the United States describes the current relocation plan as
the best scenario.
==Kyodo