PM asks ministers to find new location for Futenma [Marine Air Station - Okinawa]

[FarCenter]

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Thursday instructed Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa to find an alternative location for the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station other than Camp Schwab in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, according to sources.

The same day, Hatoyama had expressed his intention to give up on resolving the issue of the air station's relocation by the end of the year.

"It's not necessarily the case that we're discussing an issue that has to be concluded within the year," Hatoyama said to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday night.

Hatoyama likely has judged that finding a new location for the base will take a considerable amount of time.

The government will officially inform the United States of Hatoyama's decision during a ministerial-level working committee scheduled for Friday in Tokyo between the foreign and defense authorities of the two countries.

<SNIP>http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20091204TDY01304.htm

[FarCenter]

1. U.S. hints at continued use of Futenma

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20091205TDY01305.htm

[Arctic Dave]

2. How about Hawaii or California?

Imagine the job opportunities.

[FarCenter]

3. California needs the jobs