Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama faces a high hurdle in finding a substitute site for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa. His statements so far have helped create high expectations among Okinawans that the Futenma function will be moved outside their prefecture.
On the other hand, the United States insists that Japan implement a 2006 U.S.-Japan agreement to move the Futenma function to Camp Schwab in Nago in the northern part of the island. The agreement calls for building two 1,800-meter runways in a V-shape sitting on part of the camp's land and on reclaimed land in adjacent waters. The problem is that it is unlikely that the Hatoyama administration can find a location that will satisfy both Okinawans and the U.S.
During the Lower House election campaign last August, Mr. Hatoyama said he would try to find a substitute site for Futenma outside Okinawa. His mistake is that he did not begin a full-fledged effort to fulfill that pledge immediately after his administration was inaugurated in September.