Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has given up on his pledge to move the airbase off Okinawa, citing the lack of a viable alternative and the need to keep U.S.-Japan ties tight given tension on the Korean peninsula.
Tinian Mayor Ramon M. Dela Cruz, 58, was in Japan recently to meet with Mizuho Fukushima, the leader of Social Democratic Party, as well as with other members of the Japanese Diet, including those who are with Hatoyama’s Democratic Party.
“Our meeting went well,” the mayor said. “I told them that certainly the people of Tinian welcome Futenma.”
The mayor said although it is up to the U.S. and the Japanese governments to negotiate any relocation of Futenma, it’s important to let them know the general sentiment of his constituents.
He said Tinian, whose two-thirds of public lands are leased to the U.S. military, can accommodate Futenma’s 4,000 troops.
Speaker Froilan C. Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, accompanied Dela Cruz in Japan.
