Government steps closer to basing move on '06 accord
Kyodo News
The government is considering constructing a pile-supported platform at a site for the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, instead of fully reclaiming a coastal area in the city of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture,
government sources said Saturday.
government sources said Saturday.Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa has told Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama that the proposed construction would make it easier for the government to gain consent from local communities than carrying out land reclamation planned under a 2006 Japan-U.S. agreement, as its impact on the environment would be limited, the sources said.
that the proposed construction would make it easier for the government to gain consent from local communities than carrying out land reclamation planned under a 2006 Japan-U.S. agreement, as its impact on the environment would be limited, the sources said.Hatoyama did not rule out considering the idea, the sources added.
The government is also considering moving the planned construction site further offshore in an effort to reduce noise from aircraft flying over the area, the sources said.
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos during their meeting Friday that the government is considering modifying the plan agreed in the bilateral deal.
The Japan Times
