Okinawa Gov. Masahide Ota hinted Friday that he may approve a national government plan to construct a sea-based heliport off Nago.
He indicated as much after he met with Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto in Tokyo. During the talks, Hashimoto urged Ota to take more positive steps toward achieving the heliport plan. Hashimoto told Ota that the central government wants more cooperation from the prefectural government in the heliport plan, which is to take over the major functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, in the central part of Okinawa Island.
Ota did not give a direct answer to the request during his meeting with Hashimoto and only said he will cautiously monitor public reaction. "Circumstances surrounding the matter in Okinawa are serious," Ota said.
However, he hinted at his approval of the heliport plan when he attended a news conference later. "If we do not take a realistic response, advances will not be made," he said.
The government says it is appropriate to relocate the Futenma base to the sea-based heliport off Nago when the safety of local residents and the environment are taken into consideration. Earlier this week, Defense Agency chief Fumio Kyuma visited Okinawa to spell out the details of the heliport plan.
Commenting on a set of economic proposals made to the central government by the prefecture, Hashimoto told Ota that Tokyo will make the utmost efforts to realize them but that some of the proposals may be difficult. Earlier in the day, Ota requested that a government council on Okinawa policy coordination realize the proposals, which include special tax incentives and a plan to make the island prefecture a free-trade zone by around 2005.