Koizumi Denies Japan-U.S. Discrepancy over Return of Futenma Site

Tokyo, Feb. 20 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Friday that there is no misunderstanding between Japan and the United States regarding the planned return of the site of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air base in Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan. If the relocation of the base to a replacement facility to be built in the Henoko coastal district in the Okinawa city of Nago goes ahead as agreed, the site of the Futenma base will be returned to Japan, Koizumi indicated. The remark came after the U.S. Department of Defense said that it would not return the Futenma site, located in the Okinawa city of Ginowan, unless a long runway is secured at a replacement facility. While the runway at the Futenma base is roughly 2,700 meters long, the two Henoko runways, to be arranged in a V shape, will each be about 1,800 meters long. In the Japanese and U.S. governments’ plan for consolidating U.S. forces’ facilities and areas in Okinawa, published in 2013, the two countries agreed that a private-sector airport would be used in emergencies when a long runway is needed. “Necessary legal frameworks, such as the law on the use of specified public facilities, are already in place, and appropriate adjustments can be made depending on the situation,” Koizumi said. “There is no way that the Futenma air base will not be returned after the relocation is completed.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]