The long-stalled government attempt to find a new home for the U.S. Marine Futenma Air Station in Okinawa is coming back to life. The Okinawa Prefectural Government has apparently narrowed down the candidate sites to a couple of locations on the eastern shores of the main island. The government of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi cannot hide its joy about the apparent progress, and Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine seems to feel that he has seen the light at the end of the tunnel — a quick payoff to Mr. Obuchi's decision to host next year's G8 summit in Okinawa. Or is it? Isn't it a bit too facile for the government to think it has found the missing piece to the Futenma puzzle?

The first obstacle to a solution to the Futenma problem was removed late last year with the election of Mr. Inamine as Okinawa governor. Soon after taking office, Mr. Inamine put his stamp of authority on the prefectural government by forging a deal on the relocation of the Naha military port, another thorn in the side for the Okinawa people. Then came Mr. Obuchi's decision on the G8 summit venue. In one stroke, the Obuchi government seems to have laid the groundwork for untying the Futenma knot; now they must fill in the details and shape a local consensus.

That script was played out in late July at the prime minister's official residence when the heads of 10 municipalities from northern Okinawa assembled in the office of Chief Cabinet Secretary Tsutomu Nonaka, the minister in charge of Okinawa affairs, to lobby the government for funds to help the local economy. On the same day, as it turned out, U.S. Defense Secretary Richard Cohen also called at the prime minister's official residence for talks with Mr. Obuchi. The two events were evidently unrelated, but Mr. Nonaka played his cards like a seasoned poker player. "We are facing an important period of time, and we may have to ask for your help on various issues," Mr. Nonaka was said to have told his visitors from Okinawa. The language was suitably opaque, but the message was clear: The government wants a quid pro quo.