May deadline for Futenma decision, Japan says

May deadline for Futenma decision, Japan says
Kyodo News Service
Posted : Tuesday Dec 22, 2009 8:53:19 EST

TOKYO — The Japanese government has set May as the deadline for reaching a conclusion on the thorny issue of where to relocate a Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, but it should decide on it as quickly as possible, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said Tuesday.

Kitazawa’s remarks came after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called in Japan’s ambassador to Washington for an extraordinary meeting on Monday to say that the United States wants Japan to swiftly implement the relocation in line with a bilateral agreement.

Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said he has no plans to reconsider the government’s decision to put off reaching a conclusion until next year and to discuss the matter among the three ruling parties, describing Clinton’s move as “within a predictable range.”

Last week, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said he will postpone a decision on the issue and seek an alternative relocation site for Futenma other than that agreed by the two countries, but he fell short of setting a deadline.

On the May deadline, Kitazawa said at a news conference Tuesday, “It’s not that because we have set the date as May that we should resolve it then, we should (resolve) it as quickly as possible.”


Rest of article at: http://marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/12/kyodo_marine_futenma_122209/