A working group was held to discuss measures to reduce the burden on the U.S. military base at Futenma, and while the government reiterated its request for understanding regarding the relocation of the base to Henoko, Nago City, Okinawa Prefecture stated that eliminating the dangers of the base is an urgent issue. However, he argued that relocation should not be assumed.
The working group meeting, which was held for the first time in about a year, was held at the Prime Minister's Office, with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kuryu attending from the government side, and Deputy Governor Ikeda and Deputy Mayor Wada of Ginowan City from the Okinawa side.
According to the attendees, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kuryu stated that relocating to Henoko is the only solution to eliminating the dangers of the Futenma base as soon as possible, and that the plan is to proceed with construction while giving detailed explanations to the local community. I communicated this to them and asked for their understanding.
On the other hand, Vice Governor Ikeda stated that eliminating the dangers of the base is an urgent issue, but argued that relocation to Henoko should not be assumed.
We also requested that a higher-level meeting be held this year, with the participation of Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi and Governor Tamaki, and we will consider this in the future.
Deputy Mayor Wada of Ginowan City called for the government to provide financial support for the use of the Futenma Air Base site after its relocation.
After the meeting, Vice Governor Ikeda told reporters, ``The government will work with Ginowan City to ensure that visible, concrete efforts are made to eliminate the dangers of Futenma Air Base as soon as possible, which is the most important issue for the prefectural government.'' I would like to hold discussions with them."