Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama denied Thursday he has backpedaled on the relocation of Futenma air station, stressing the initial proposal to move the U.S. Marine base outside Okinawa Prefecture was his personal goal and not a pledge made by his party.
The Democratic Party of Japan's pledge "is to review the realignment of U.S. bases and alleviate the burden on Okinawa Prefecture," Hatoyama told reporters. He insisted that removing the air station from the prefecture — a sentiment he has repeated since last summer's election — is "a personal comment made by myself."
During a visit to Okinawa Prefecture on Tuesday, Hatoyama asked local government officials to accept that the base cannot be completely removed from the island, as he had hoped.