Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Dec. 7 said "the time has come" for the government to make a decision on the fate of the Futenma military facility in Okinawa Prefecture and convey it to the United States, but he wouldn't say what it will be or precisely when it will be.

Yukio Hatoyama KYODO PHOTO

Hatoyama said later that if he can meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Dec. 18, he hopes to brief him on "the government's policy" on the relocation issue and seek Washington's understanding.

But when asked if by "the government's policy" he meant his conclusion on where to transfer the base, he said, "I am not saying so necessarily."

Hatoyama and Obama are scheduled to attend the U.N. climate change summit in Copenhagen that began Dec. 7 and continues until Dec. 18.

His comments came just after the government apparently had put on hold until next year a decision on where the air station, now located in the city of Ginowan, will end up, with officials telling their U.S. negotiating partners that Japan can't reach any conclusion before the end of the month.

"I believe the time has come for us to make a decision on how to convey the government's way of thinking on the Futenma relocation issue to the United States," Hatoyama said.

But Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said at a news conference Hatoyama meant that the government will decide a policy on how it should deal with the issue and that he will make more specific instructions toward achieving a resolution, denying that the prime minister will announce a detailed relocation plan soon.