Officials still seeking Futenma solution

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Officials still seeking Futenma solution
By Chiyomi Sumida, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, December 11, 2009

Even though high-level talks over relocating a Marine Corps air station on Okinawa have been halted, Japanese and U.S. officials said Wednesday the two countries will continue to work to resolve the issue.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said during a Wednesday news conference that close and intense negotiations are needed to resolve the dispute over the location of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. Otherwise, he said, the delay could affect the entire timeline of the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.

Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada announced Tuesday that talks over Futenma will be suspended until the Japanese government decides how and where it wants the air station moved. Since taking power in September, Japan’s center-left government has been reviewing a plan to move Futenma operations to Camp Schwab, part of a 2006 bilateral agreement.

To answer those on Okinawa opposed to the move within the island, the Democratic Party of Japan made a campaign pledge to move the military airfield outside Okinawa.

While Japan weighs alternative locations, the U.S. maintains its stance that it is best to implement the plan as agreed in the road map.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=66581