Military analyst Kazuhisa Ogawa says that he has a plan that could solve the Futenma base mess in just two days.
Ogawa, head of the Yokohama-based Strategic Research Institute of International Change, called on the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to seriously consider his proposal as a substitute for relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from the central part of Okinawa Island to the Henoko area in the northern part of the island, given that the Henoko plan is facing strident opposition from Okinawa's residents.
Ogawa, who took part in negotiations with the U.S. in 2010 on the Futenma problem on behalf of the administration of then-Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama of the Democratic Party of Japan, said the most pressing issue is to immediately remove the dangers faced by local residents from aircraft operations at the Futenma base, which sits in a densely populated area in the city of Ginowan.
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