Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine made it clear Friday that he will accept the relocation of key functions of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station to a new facility within the prefecture -- as long as the site is a joint military-civilian site that the U.S. military will be required to leave in 15 years.
"Many Okinawans hope the Futenma airfield will be returned unconditionally, but when we consider the international situation, we will have to make the bitter choice of moving it to another place (in Okinawa)," Inamine said during talks between central and prefectural government officials at the Prime Minister's Official Residence.
Although Inamine did not mention a candidate site for the new facility, it is widely believed he will select the Henoko district of the northern Okinawa city of Nago, near Camp Schwab. The governor is expected to announce his decision next week.