The presumptive prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said Friday he will try to gain local support for a plan to replace a key U.S. base in Okinawa while upholding Tokyo's accord with Washington over the transfer.
Abe, who heads the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, said at a news conference at the Yamaguchi Prefectural Government that he wants to "make efforts toward seeking the consent of the local community" for moving U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to the Henoko area in Nago, farther north on Okinawa Island from its current location in the city of Ginowan.
Abe's remarks signal that his incoming government, despite local resistance, will pursue the existing plan to move shift Futenma's operations to the Henoko coast adjoining Camp Schwab.