Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa on Thursday backpedaled from his claim the previous day that he had a new, specific plan for relocating U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and basically said the pact reached in May to move the base to Nago, Okinawa, stands.
Speaking to reporters in the first public debate with Prime Minister Naoto Kan ahead of the party's Sept. 14 presidential election, Ozawa also touched on his possible indictment over the mismanagement of his political funds, saying, "I will not evade (any charges)."
Addressing the contentious Futenma issue, Ozawa said he intends to respect the agreement Kan's predecessor, Yukio Hatoyama, reached with Washington in May to relocate the base to Nago.