Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima agreed to disagree Monday over a long-stalled plan for moving a key U.S. military base elsewhere in Okinawa.
Noda told Nakaima during their talks in the prefecture that Japan and the United States are pushing him to accept the plan to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma because it is the "only viable" option.
The prime minister wants Nakaima to sign off on the Japan-U.S. accord so the oft-maligned base can be moved from crowded Ginowan to the less-populated coastal area of Henoko in Nago, farther north on Okinawa Island.