Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama essentially told Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima on Sunday that he cannot help asking the Okinawan people to accept the Henoko district, in the city of Nago in the northern part of Okinawa, as the site for relocating U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. In mentioning Henoko, he used the subtle expression "fukin," which can be mean "in or near." Still, the main thrust is that the 2006 pact between Japan and the United States on Futenma's relocation, in principle, will be revived.
In the past, Mr. Hatoyama repeatedly expressed his wish to move Futenma's functions outside Okinawa at the least. He also said the reclamation of land in a shallow area off Henoko, as called for by the 2006 pact, was an outrage against the marine environment. In view of these statements, it is logical that Okinawans would now express disappointment and anger.
On Friday the Japanese and the U.S. governments are scheduled to announce an agreement on Futenma. But they should realize that this will not resolve the issue. Okinawan people's anger and opposition will be further stoked by the announcement. If Okinawan people go on to express their opposition to the plan in the Nago city assembly election in September and in the Okinawa gubernatorial election in November, it will become all the more difficult for Tokyo and Washington to push the Nago plan. This will increase the possibility that the Futenma base will remain as it is.