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On May 28, Prime Minister and DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama held a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office to announce that the Cabinet had decided Futenma base would be relocated to Camp Schwab in the vicinity of Henoko and to the waters adjacent to it, as agreed between Japan and the United States. He also said that he would devote his utmost efforts to lighten the burden placed by US bases on Okinawa and to fully resolve the issue, and called for the understanding and the cooperation of the Japanese people in this task.
Hatoyama also revealed that he had been forced to dismiss Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety, Social Affairs and Gender Equality Mizuho Fukushima due to her refusal to sign the Cabinet resolution regarding this issue. In response to a reporter’s question, he stressed that Fukushima’s dismissal did not signify the end of the coalition government with the Social Democratic Party, saying, “As Prime Minister and on behalf of the DPJ I asked Ms Fukushima for her continued cooperation in the three-party coalition government.”
At the start of his press conference, Hatoyama stated that “I called this press conference today to inform the public regarding a matter directly related to the security and the daily lives of the Japanese people.” He stressed that the government decision was important not only for the security of Japan, but for that of East Asia as a whole, and went on to emphasise the perception that maintaining the relationship of trust between Japan and the United States was of the utmost importance for the security of the region, and that the relocation of Henoko was something that had been agreed on between the governments of Japan and the US.
Furthermore, Hatoyama revealed that since the end of last year, the government had seriously considered over forty locations within Japan as possible sites for the relocation of Futenma. He said that following this process, the administration had succeeded in including the relocation of US military training currently undertaken in Okinawa outside the prefecture in negotiations with the US government, something not achieved by past LDP administrations, and emphasized that the government would continue to work for the realization of this proposal.
Hatoyama went on to express his resolution to continue to work for the relocation of Okinawan bases elsewhere in Japan, or outside of Japan, as well as the revision and reduction of US bases in Japan and the movement of training outside of Okinawa, saying, “this Cabinet decision may be nothing more than the very first step, or even a half step, forward. However, move forward we must. We must search out measures to reduce the burden shouldered by Okinawa, even if by a step-by-step approach, all the while ensuring the security of our country.”
Furthermore, Hatoyama apologized once more for his failure to realize the relocation of Futenma outside of Okinawa, saying, “I sincerely apologise for being unable to keep my word, and moreover for having as a result hurt the people of Okinawa.” He went on to say that he would continue to endeavour to gain the understanding of the people of Okinawa, and to engage in dialogue, saying, “I am well aware that this will anger many citizens of Okinawa[…]yet I must ask them for their acceptance.”
The full English translation of the Prime Minister’s statement at the press conference is available on the Kantei website at:
http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/hatoyama/statement/201005/28kaiken_e.html
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