Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Wednesday revealed his plan to move as many as 1,000 of the 2,500 U.S. Marines based at the Futenma air station in Okinawa to Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture during a meeting with former Lower House member Torao Tokuda, a native of Tokunoshima, Tokuda's son said.
But the retired lawmaker, who is still influential in his old district, rejected the idea, saying construction of a base is "unacceptable," according to Tokuda's son, Takeshi, who serves as a Liberal Democratic Party Lower House member.
While Torao Tokuda made assurances he will do what he can to set up a meeting between the prime minister and the three mayors on Tokunoshima, the former lawmaker shot down Hatoyama's proposal, calling it unfeasible.