Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. President Barack Obama are unlikely to engage in in-depth discussions on a bilateral dispute over the relocation of a U.S. Marine Corps airfield in Okinawa Prefecture when they meet in Tokyo later this week, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Sunday.
"There has been a tacit agreement (between the two countries) that silliness, in which the top Japanese and U.S. leaders discuss the issue but can't decide on anything, should be avoided," Okada said during a TV Asahi program.
He also said the issue over the Futenma airfield should be resolved by coming up with a solution acceptable to the various parties, including people in Okinawa.
Resolving the dispute by the end of December will be desirable, but it might take longer than that, the minister said.
In May 2006, Japan and the United States agreed to move the heliport functions of Futenma Air Station located in downtown Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to a less densely populated area in Nago, northern Okinawa, by 2014. The two countries also agreed at the time on the transfer of 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam.
Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan, which came to power in September after a sweeping election victory, has promoted the idea of moving the Futenma airfield out of Okinawa, or even out of Japan, in view of the heavy U.S. military presence in the southernmost prefecture.
At present, the government led by the DPJ is exploring several options, including merging the heliport functions with the nearby Kadena Air Base — a plan opposed by Washington and the people of Okinawa.