Japan: Futenma policy announcement Tuesday

[unhappycamper]

Japan: Futenma policy announcement Tuesday
Kyodo News Service
Posted : Monday Dec 14, 2009 9:55:23 EST

TOKYO — Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Monday that his government will decide its policy Tuesday on the issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station on Okinawa.

The policy, to be finalized at a meeting of senior officials of the three parties comprising Hatoyama’s coalition government, is likely to involve not fixing a relocation site for the Futenma base until next year and minimizing the risks posed by the facility as soon as possible.

The announcement by Hatoyama came after U.S. officials, frustrated by his new government’s review of an existing relocation deal, made a fresh call on Tokyo to make up its mind on the matter by Friday.

“We will hold a meeting of the ministerial committee on basic policies tomorrow (Tuesday), and I’d like to align the three ruling parties then,” Hatoyama told reporters, referring to the ministerial meeting.

“I’m feeling positively about it (the meeting’s outcome), and therefore think we will be able to formulate a government policy on the Futenma relocation issue,” he said.


Rest of article at: http://marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/12/kyodo_futenma_policy_121409/