EDITORIAL: Hatoyama in Okinawa

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama pledged during an election campaign to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma outside Okinawa Prefecture.

We can hardly say he has made sufficient efforts to keep his word during the eight months since he took office.

Hatoyama on Tuesday told Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima and others in Okinawa Prefecture that he had no choice but to beg the people of Okinawa to continue making sacrifices for the time being to swiftly remove the dangers posed by the Futenma air station.

If the prime minister truly believes this is his only option, he certainly did a terrible job of expressing his thoughts and regrets.

For the first time, Hatoyama told Nakaima and others that it would be very difficult to relocate the entire Futenma base overseas or outside the prefecture.

According to Hatoyama, he was forced to conclude that relocating the Futenma base outside Okinawa Prefecture was impossible in view of the need to maintain the deterrence power of U.S. forces in Japan. He also said it "became clear" that even if the base were to be relocated outside the prefecture, it could not be moved too far away.

The prime minister's long-overdue explanation was so weak that we cannot imagine anyone buying it.

It would have been a different story if the prime minister had reached his conclusion after holding intensive talks with the communities concerned for their cooperation in the relocation issue.

But the administration was still young when it started considering Camp Schwab in Nago or a landfill area off the Katsuren Peninsula in Uruma, both in Okinawa Prefecture, as possible relocation sites. With less than a month left for Hatoyama to meet his self-imposed deadline for resolving the issue, the administration has finally revealed its real intention.

Even at this late date, Hatoyama still has not disclosed details of the plans he claims to have had in mind. This is because his Democratic Party of Japan has yet to reach an agreement with its coalition partners on plans to build a pier-type runway off the coast of Henoko in Nago and move part of Futenma's helicopter functions to Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture.

Okinawa Governor Nakaima's top priority is to remove the dangers posed by the Futenma base. He has not voiced outright opposition to relocating parts of the air station within the prefecture.

But even Nakaima cannot be expected to pledge his cooperation to the prime minister without being informed of the government's specific relocation plans.

Hatoyama stressed his intention to ease Okinawa's burden as part of a "package" deal. This appears to mean he will seek a review of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement in Okinawa's favor to make up for letting down the Okinawan people on the Futenma issue.

Hatoyama also indicated a "strong future possibility of relocating (the Futenma base) to Guam or Tinian." But the question is how he envisions East Asia's long-term security environment and how he intends to fit the Japan-U.S. alliance into it.

His desire to lighten Okinawa's burden is perfectly honorable. But this is only a pipe dream in the absence of any firm commitment to pursue strategically-sound diplomacy with the United States and the rest of Asia. This is another reason why Hatoyama's credibility remains shaky.

At every stop during his Okinawa visit, the prime minister reiterated his desire to "hear people's thoughts firsthand." But it must have been the other way round for the people; they must have wanted to hear what their prime minister was thinking.

Hatoyama appears to be considering further visits to Okinawa to keep the dialogue going. But he has been prime minister for eight months now, and he has only just made his first visit to the southern prefecture.

If he fails to win the understanding of the communities that are considered possible relocation sites in the limited time left, Hatoyama will have only two options: postpone a decision on the issue or simply force the issue on the unwilling locals.

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 5