ID :
182003
Fri, 05/13/2011 - 16:37
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/182003
The shortlink copeid
U.S. senators' Futenma idea could be starting point for talks: Nakaima
TOKYO (Kyodo) - Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima said Friday a proposal by influential U.S. senators to scrap a stalled relocation plan for a U.S. Marine base and instead integrate it into another U.S. military facility in Okinawa could provide a starting point for discussions, provided that it would reduce noise and other burdens on local residents.
But Nakaima, governor of the southwestern prefecture that hosts the bulk of U.S. forces in Japan, questioned whether such integration is ''realistic'' given that residents living near the suggested destination -- the U.S. Kadena Air Base -- are already suffering from intense aircraft noise.
''If they are going to relocate the air force out of Kadena base, then maybe this will be a point of entry'' for further discussions, he told reporters during a visit to Tokyo.
The bipartisan proposal by Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan and chairman of the Senate Arms Services Committee, and two other senators recommends integrating the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station with Kadena as the current relocation plan is unrealistic and unaffordable.
Against the latest proposal, both Japan and the United States said they will stick with the existing bilateral accord to move the Futenma base from a crowded residential area in Ginowan to the less densely populated coastal area of Henoko in Nago, also in Okinawa.
At a parliamentary session, Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto said Japan honors the deal struck in May last year, while U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos told Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa that the U.S. policy to implement their bilateral accord remains intact, government sources said.
Matsumoto told a press conference that he will ''pay close attention to'' the reaction to the U.S. senators' proposal and Tokyo will strive to have Washington reduce the noise at the Kadena base.
This plan, however, has so far seen no tangible progress amid strong local opposition, including calls from Nakaima and others for the base to be moved out of the island prefecture altogether.
In Washington, the U.S. Defense Department also downplayed the proposal, with Pentagon spokesman David Lapan telling reporters Thursday that the option of integration has already been studied and Washington's commitment to the current relocation plan is unchanged.
The idea of merging Futenma's functions with Kadena has been repeatedly floated. In a recent instance, then Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada pursued the plan in 2009 but eventually gave up after the U.S. military cited operational problems.
The Kadena base is home to the U.S. Air Force's largest combat wing, the 18th wing.
But Nakaima, governor of the southwestern prefecture that hosts the bulk of U.S. forces in Japan, questioned whether such integration is ''realistic'' given that residents living near the suggested destination -- the U.S. Kadena Air Base -- are already suffering from intense aircraft noise.
''If they are going to relocate the air force out of Kadena base, then maybe this will be a point of entry'' for further discussions, he told reporters during a visit to Tokyo.
The bipartisan proposal by Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan and chairman of the Senate Arms Services Committee, and two other senators recommends integrating the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station with Kadena as the current relocation plan is unrealistic and unaffordable.
Against the latest proposal, both Japan and the United States said they will stick with the existing bilateral accord to move the Futenma base from a crowded residential area in Ginowan to the less densely populated coastal area of Henoko in Nago, also in Okinawa.
At a parliamentary session, Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto said Japan honors the deal struck in May last year, while U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos told Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa that the U.S. policy to implement their bilateral accord remains intact, government sources said.
Matsumoto told a press conference that he will ''pay close attention to'' the reaction to the U.S. senators' proposal and Tokyo will strive to have Washington reduce the noise at the Kadena base.
This plan, however, has so far seen no tangible progress amid strong local opposition, including calls from Nakaima and others for the base to be moved out of the island prefecture altogether.
In Washington, the U.S. Defense Department also downplayed the proposal, with Pentagon spokesman David Lapan telling reporters Thursday that the option of integration has already been studied and Washington's commitment to the current relocation plan is unchanged.
The idea of merging Futenma's functions with Kadena has been repeatedly floated. In a recent instance, then Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada pursued the plan in 2009 but eventually gave up after the U.S. military cited operational problems.
The Kadena base is home to the U.S. Air Force's largest combat wing, the 18th wing.
