Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama suggested Thursday that he was only referring to a challenge, not a pledge, when he said during last year’s election campaign that his Democratic Party of Japan would try to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station ‘‘at least outside of Okinawa Prefecture’’ if it assumed power.
Meanwhile, Mizuho Fukushima, who heads the DPJ’s coalition partner the Social Democratic Party, which has been calling for the base to be transferred outside of Japan, suggested that Hatoyama does not need to resolve the relocation issue by his self-imposed deadline of May 31.
‘‘Since I said that and formed the government, I have acted, up to now, to make efforts’’ to realize the relocation of the Futenma facility outside of Okinawa, Hatoyama told reporters on Thursday morning.
In an attempt to clarify that seeking the relocation of the base outside of Okinawa was not a DPJ campaign promise, the prime minister said that the party had pledged to thoroughly review the planned realignment of U.S. forces in Japan to reduce the burden on the people of Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in the country.
During a visit to the main island of Okinawa on Tuesday, Hatoyama said it is not feasible to relocate all of the functions of the base outside of the island prefecture, angering local people who believed Hatoyama had promised to seek its relocation elsewhere.
SDP chief Fukushima took a cautious view on the May 31 deadline for settling the dispute, indicating that further discussions are needed within the government.
During a TV program on Thursday, Fukushima, who also serves as consumer affairs minister, said the government ‘‘just has to come up by the end of May with an idea or direction that (the relocation) would not take place within the prefecture.’‘
On the possibility that her party could leave the ruling coalition over the matter, Fukushima only said, ‘‘The important thing right now is not whether the SDP will leave the coalition, but that it is time for the party to work hard not to let (the government) come up with a final conclusion that the base should be relocated within the prefecture.’‘
Fukushima suggested in December that the SDP would leave the ruling coalition if the government decided to relocate the base within Okinawa.
But the tiny party’s Diet affairs chief from Okinawa Prefecture, Teruya Kantoku, told reporters Thursday, ‘‘I’ve made a serious decision and am always prepared. I will not let anyone force any more sacrifices on Okinawa.’‘
Meanwhile, Kenji Yamaoka, chairman of the DPJ’s Diet Affairs Committee, said he does not think the Futenma issue will have a direct impact on the lives of the people, sparking criticism from an assemblywoman in Itoman, Okinawa.
Yamaoka also said in a meeting at the DPJ’s headquarters in Tokyo that people in other cities do not seem as interested in the Futenma issue as they are in child benefits—one of the party’s policies.
‘‘People seem to think the Futenma (issue) is something occurring in a different world but the child benefit issue is related to their lives,’’ Yamaoka said.
But the assemblywoman was quick to attack the senior DPJ lawmaker, saying, ‘‘For us, the course of the issue could destroy our lives. It sounds disrespectful to the people (of Okinawa).’‘
Yamaoka later offered an apology and retracted the comments.
Meanwhile, Mizuho Fukushima, who heads the DPJ’s coalition partner the Social Democratic Party, which has been calling for the base to be transferred outside of Japan, suggested that Hatoyama does not need to resolve the relocation issue by his self-imposed deadline of May 31.
‘‘Since I said that and formed the government, I have acted, up to now, to make efforts’’ to realize the relocation of the Futenma facility outside of Okinawa, Hatoyama told reporters on Thursday morning.
In an attempt to clarify that seeking the relocation of the base outside of Okinawa was not a DPJ campaign promise, the prime minister said that the party had pledged to thoroughly review the planned realignment of U.S. forces in Japan to reduce the burden on the people of Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in the country.
During a visit to the main island of Okinawa on Tuesday, Hatoyama said it is not feasible to relocate all of the functions of the base outside of the island prefecture, angering local people who believed Hatoyama had promised to seek its relocation elsewhere.
SDP chief Fukushima took a cautious view on the May 31 deadline for settling the dispute, indicating that further discussions are needed within the government.
During a TV program on Thursday, Fukushima, who also serves as consumer affairs minister, said the government ‘‘just has to come up by the end of May with an idea or direction that (the relocation) would not take place within the prefecture.’‘
On the possibility that her party could leave the ruling coalition over the matter, Fukushima only said, ‘‘The important thing right now is not whether the SDP will leave the coalition, but that it is time for the party to work hard not to let (the government) come up with a final conclusion that the base should be relocated within the prefecture.’‘
Fukushima suggested in December that the SDP would leave the ruling coalition if the government decided to relocate the base within Okinawa.
But the tiny party’s Diet affairs chief from Okinawa Prefecture, Teruya Kantoku, told reporters Thursday, ‘‘I’ve made a serious decision and am always prepared. I will not let anyone force any more sacrifices on Okinawa.’‘
Meanwhile, Kenji Yamaoka, chairman of the DPJ’s Diet Affairs Committee, said he does not think the Futenma issue will have a direct impact on the lives of the people, sparking criticism from an assemblywoman in Itoman, Okinawa.
Yamaoka also said in a meeting at the DPJ’s headquarters in Tokyo that people in other cities do not seem as interested in the Futenma issue as they are in child benefits—one of the party’s policies.
‘‘People seem to think the Futenma (issue) is something occurring in a different world but the child benefit issue is related to their lives,’’ Yamaoka said.
But the assemblywoman was quick to attack the senior DPJ lawmaker, saying, ‘‘For us, the course of the issue could destroy our lives. It sounds disrespectful to the people (of Okinawa).’‘
Yamaoka later offered an apology and retracted the comments.
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