Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga (left) and Nago Mayor Yoshikazu Shimabukuro shake hands after a meeting in Tokyo on April 7.

The deal, reached between Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga and Nago Mayor Yoshikazu Shimabukuro, will allow the government to relocate the heliport functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station from downtown Ginowan, central Okinawa, to Cape Henoko in Nago.

However, on April 8, Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine expressed his continuing opposition to the plan, saying the prefecture wants the air base built farther offshore.

"The prefecture has its own stance, and we will maintain it," Inamine said after meeting Nukaga at the Defense Agency.

The governor's approval is required before the central government can start filling in the sea to build a substitute for the air station.

According to the April 7 agreement, two runways will be built across the tip of Cape Henoko in an L-shaped formation so that U.S. military aircraft do not have to fly over residential areas.

The Japan Times Weekly: April 15, 2006
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