Perspectives

A government panel set up to investigate the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, currently located in the Okinawa Prefecture city of Ginowan, has once again delayed the announcement of political parties' relocation proposals. Just how long will the meandering over the base relocation issue continue? Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has repeatedly declared that a decision will be reached by the end of May, but can we really be confident that the government will come through?

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) suggests relocating the base either to the United States unincorporated territory of Guam, to the island of Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands, or to the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) Omura Air Base in Nagasaki, but is pushing most strongly for overseas relocation.

In comparison, the People's New Party (PNP) originally planned to suggest keeping the air station in Okinawa Prefecture and relocating it to inland sections of the U.S. military's Camp Schwab in Nago or integrating it into Kadena Air Base. However, these plans have been suddenly called off.

If the voices of the three parties of the ruling coalition -- including the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) -- are not aligned, then the government will be hounded by the opposition parties, and it is likely that this would disrupt deliberations on next fiscal year's budget. This is probably why the government panel has withheld an announcement. But the move is hardly a satisfactory solution, and it was earlier predicted that differing proposals would emerge from each political party.

The timing for the presentation of proposals has been put off once, from the end of January to mid-February, and this time marks the second postponement. Surely such delays will hinder the planning process under which the three ruling coalition parties are to reach an agreement following negotiations in the government panel. Waiting until after the budget has been passed because of fears of verbal disputes in the Diet appears to be nothing more than time-wasting.

It was the SDP which first suggested postponing the announcement this time. Debate has apparently been stirring within the party over whether to officially suggest relocating the base out of Okinawa Prefecture -- a move likely to cause a stir due to conflicting views on the issue. However, 1 1/2 months have already passed since the launch of the panel and this is no time for wavering. It could be assumed that gnawing doubts within the SDP -- which is opposed to keeping the base in Okinawa -- that the Prime Minister's Office and PNP are trying to compile a plan to relocate the base to inland sections of Okinawa's Camp Schwab may have prompted the party to put off making an announcement. But this would be nothing more than "isolated maneuvering," and such a position lacks persuasiveness.

In order to achieve the settlement that the prime minister has promised, an agreement must be reached with the United States, and, if the base is relocated within Japan, with the local bodies involved.

It will not be easy to select a relocation site that will satisfy both sides. The United States has stressed that the base should be relocated to coastal portions of Henoko, Okinawa Prefecture, under a previous agreement between the Japanese and U.S. governments, but local bodies governing all of the proposed relocation sites are opposed to accepting the base. Time is running out. In order to reach a settlement by May, not a day can be wasted.

Notwithstanding this, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, who chairs the government panel, has finally stated that the DPJ's plans will be presented to the government panel. This move, following assertions made by the PNP and SDP, is only natural.

But the series of events surrounding the decision unveils an extremely clumsy decision-making process within the government and ruling coalition. The decision to delay the announcement of each party's plans casts doubt on their political sense. It is a chaotic political situation.