NAHA (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima remained divided Monday over a plan to relocate a key U.S. base within Okinawa Prefecture, with the governor rejecting the proposed relocation amid strong local opposition.

Noda, who visited Okinawa for the first time since assuming office in September, told Nakaima during their talks that Japan and the United States are pushing for the current relocation plan for the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station and see this as the “only viable” option.

With the two failing to bridge their gap, the outlook on implementing a Japan-U.S. accord to relocate the Futenma base from a crowded residential district in Ginowan to the less populated coastal area of Henoko, both in Okinawa, has become even more uncertain.

Nakaima rebuffed the premier’s effort to secure local consent for the relocation, saying relocation to Henoko will take a “very long time.”

“It would be faster to find a (relocation site) elsewhere in Japan,” he told Noda at the meeting, which was open to the press, reflecting the locals’ desire to see the Futenma base moved outside Okinawa, which has long hosted a bulk of U.S. forces in Japan.

The governor told reporters afterward, “I have no intention of changing my mind” in calling for the relocation out of Okinawa.

Noda, for his part, promised Nakaima that the Futenma base will not remain in its current state.

The premier said the government is moving toward easing Okinawa’s burden while maintaining the deterrent effect provided by Marines stationed in the prefecture which is vital in the wake of a tougher security environment around Japan.

“I want to create an environment under which measures to reduce (Okinawa’s) burden can be implemented early on,” Noda said at a press conference, wrapping up his two-day trip to Okinawa.

The meeting between Noda and Nakaima came at a time when Tokyo and Washington are reviewing a 2006 accord on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan by delinking the Futenma relocation issue from the transfer of a considerable number of the Marines in Okinawa to Guam and resulting land returns to the southern island prefecture.

Noda said the negotiations on the review which includes land return will likely take “several months” and will “not be timed” with his official U.S. visit. His trip is being arranged by both countries for early May.

During their meeting, Noda apologized to Nakaima for the flip-flops of the central government since his Democratic Party of Japan took power in 2009 and indiscreet comments by a former chief of the Defense Ministry’s Okinawa bureau regarding the base relocation.

Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, the first premier of the DPJ-led government, raised hopes by urging the base to be moved out of the southern island prefecture. But the two countries eventually endorsed the 2006 accord stipulating relocation within Okinawa.

Touching on other issues, the governor asked Noda for changes in the operation of the Status of Forces Agreement, which governs the handling of U.S. service personnel in Japan, to which Noda said discussions would be held among the Japanese and U.S. governments, as well as base-hosting municipalities.

Noda said among other dates, he plans to revisit Okinawa on May 15, the 40^th anniversary of Okinawa’s reversion from U.S. control, and vowed to push for passage of legislation on special measures to stimulate its economy.

Noda’s itinerary included viewing the Futenma base and its relocation site in Henoko from a Self-Defense Forces helicopter, and meeting Zenshin Takamine, chairman of the prefectural assembly, as well as representatives from local business groups.

But the local government and community voiced frustration that a meeting was not fixed between the premier and local people. About 100 residents and their supporters protested against Noda in front of the prefectural government office.

Koshin Iha, a former junior high school teacher in the Okinawa town of Chatan, criticized how the premier was imposing U.S. bases on Okinawa, saying, “It appears as if he does not treat Okinawa as part of Japan.”

Hitoshi Yokota, a 64-year-old resident in Naha, meanwhile, dismissed the premier’s apology. “The issue is not something that can be settled merely by saying sorry,” he said.

Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine told reporters he had wanted Noda to have a dialogue with residents.

In Tokyo, Tadamori Oshima, vice president of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, criticized Noda’s visit to Okinawa as coming too late.

“If (the government) does not present a specific proposal to avoid the Futenma base from being fixed permanently, it will only heighten distrust of politics,” Oshima told reporters at the LDP’s headquarters.

Kyodo Press