During a courtesy call with Camacho in Adelup, Japanese Minister of Defense Toshimi Kitazawa confirmed that a proposal to shut down the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Station in Okinawa and transfer all U.S. military installations to Guam has been broached as an option but no solid decision has been made.
“Defense Minister Kitazawa assured me that this is an idea that has been presented but has yet to be addressed among their leadership in Japan. I appreciate his honesty in the matter, but I also wanted to make clear that as decisions are made, Guam’s resources and the welfare of our community must be kept in mind.” Camacho said.
“We are already challenged with the present numbers of the relocation of 8,000 Marines, and moving the entire Futenma base would not be possible due to our limited resources and capacity,” the governor added.
Guam is kept in suspense as the fate of the Futenma base remains in limbo while the United States and Japan try to break the escalating negotiation standoff.
“At this moment, we are continuing the discussion between the Japanese and the U.S. government and nothing has been decided yet,” Kitazawa told a press briefing at the Hyatt Regency Guam yesterday. “At this moment, all we can say is that the discussion is ongoing.”
Kitazawa toured Andersen Air Force Base, Naval Base Guam, and Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station Guam on Wednesday. He left Guam yesterday.
A press release from the Joint Guam Program Office said the visit has allowed Kitazawa to gain an accurate grasp of the situation on Guam and “to also see the proposed sites for development of facilities and infrastructure in support of the Marine Corps relocation as agreed to in the 2006 U.S.-Japan Roadmap agreement.”
“Defense Minister Kitazawa’s visit is an important step in the process of carrying out agreements between the U.S. and Japan to realign forces in the Pacific,” Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roger Natsuhara said.
During a press briefing, Kitazawa declined to state his observation of Guam facilities after the daylong tour.
