Hatoyama stands by deadline on US Marine base
Source: Agencies |
May 11, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
JAPANESE Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama stood by an end-of-May deadline yesterday for resolving a row over a United States Marine base, denying an earlier report the decision would be delayed amid falling support for the ruling party.
Dissatisfaction with Hatoyama's handling of the dispute has been one of the triggers for evaporating voter support in the run-up to an upper house election expected in July, which his ruling party must win to avoid policy deadlock.
The Kyodo news agency had earlier reported, without citing sources, the government had given up on Hatoyama's self-imposed deadline on finding a relocation site for the Futenma airbase on Okinawa island.
But Hatoyama, under speculation that he may have to resign if he cannot resolve the dispute, told reporters he was sticking to the promise he had made to all those involved, including Okinawa residents and US officials, to agree to a "direction" on resolving the issue. "We will create an environment in which this agreement can be reached," he said.
But Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said it could be hard to complete a detailed plan by the end of month.
Disillusioned by funding scandals in the ruling party and Hatoyama's perceived inability to take hard decisions, less than a fifth of Japanese plan to vote for the Democratic Party in the upper house election, a newspaper poll showed yesterday.
The Democrats' receding chances of winning a majority in the election have raised the possibility of policy deadlock as the country struggles to maintain an economic recovery and control ballooning public debt.
"There is no way to raise support, so the Democrats are going into damage control mode," said Tsuneo Watanabe, of the Tokyo Foundation thinktank. He said that could include blaming Hatoyama personally to deflect criticism from the party.
Only a quarter of respondents to the Yomiuri poll said they supported Hatoyama. About half of the respondents said Hatoyama should resign if he misses the end-May deadline.
Dissatisfaction with Hatoyama's handling of the dispute has been one of the triggers for evaporating voter support in the run-up to an upper house election expected in July, which his ruling party must win to avoid policy deadlock.
The Kyodo news agency had earlier reported, without citing sources, the government had given up on Hatoyama's self-imposed deadline on finding a relocation site for the Futenma airbase on Okinawa island.
But Hatoyama, under speculation that he may have to resign if he cannot resolve the dispute, told reporters he was sticking to the promise he had made to all those involved, including Okinawa residents and US officials, to agree to a "direction" on resolving the issue. "We will create an environment in which this agreement can be reached," he said.
But Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said it could be hard to complete a detailed plan by the end of month.
Disillusioned by funding scandals in the ruling party and Hatoyama's perceived inability to take hard decisions, less than a fifth of Japanese plan to vote for the Democratic Party in the upper house election, a newspaper poll showed yesterday.
The Democrats' receding chances of winning a majority in the election have raised the possibility of policy deadlock as the country struggles to maintain an economic recovery and control ballooning public debt.
"There is no way to raise support, so the Democrats are going into damage control mode," said Tsuneo Watanabe, of the Tokyo Foundation thinktank. He said that could include blaming Hatoyama personally to deflect criticism from the party.
Only a quarter of respondents to the Yomiuri poll said they supported Hatoyama. About half of the respondents said Hatoyama should resign if he misses the end-May deadline.
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