Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine, fresh from a re-election victory, has renewed his call for a time limit on U.S. forces' use of a planned local airfield, but the national government only responded by repeating its earlier position Monday.
Following his win at the polls Sunday, Inamine said construction on the new airfield will not begin until the time-limit issue is resolved. Inamine is demanding that U.S. use of the airport be limited to 15 years.
"We will negotiate with the United States," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters at his office, avoiding direct comment on the issue.
The military-civilian airport is to be built off the coast of Nago, in northern Okinawa Island, to accommodate the U.S. Marine Corps heliport being relocated from Futenma Air Station in Ginowan.
The ruling bloc, led by Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party, supported Inamine's election campaign. The governor basically agreed on the relocation plan itself.