Defense chief, Okinawa governor remain apart over Futemma relocation

first since Hayashi assumed the post earlier this month.

But Hayashi and Nakaima agreed to keep working closely to overcome differences through various negotiation channels including recently launched working-level sessions on the issue involving the central government and relevantmunicipalities in Okinawa.

Nakaima demanded that the central government meet Okinawa's request that the planned relocation site be moved ''as far offshore as possible'' from Nago but Hayashi reiterated it would be hard to change the construction plan without ''reasonable grounds.'' ''I hope the government will be fully mindful of opinions in the local community and carry out the Futemma relocation project at an early date,'' Nakaima told the meeting at the prefectural government office, which was opento the press.

The meeting came as the central government and Okinawa remain at odds over a plan to construct an airfield in Nago to which key functions of the Futemma base in Ginowan will be relocated in line with a Japan-U.S. accord reached in2006.

Okinawa has demanded that the envisioned airfield with two 1,600-meter runways in a V-shape formation that will use part of the coast of the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Schwab be moved offshore, citing concerns among residents oversafety and noise.

Hayashi plans to visit Nago and other areas in Okinawa on Wednesday to visitCamp Schwab and meet with local leaders, a Defense Ministry official said.

The relocation of the Futemma base by 2014 is a key item of the 2006 realignment agreement. Japan and the United States also agreed that 8,000 Marines and 9,000 of their family members will be moved to Guam from Okinawa inconnection with the Futemma base relocation.

Okinawa, located about 1,500 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, hosts the bulk ofU.S. military facilities in Japan.