Local News

The Nishinippon Shimbun conducted a survey of Kyushu governors to gauge their response to a government suggestion to move some of the functions of the Futenma airbase in Okinawa to Kyushu locations, and found that most have a very cautious attitude. Fukuoka Prefecture Gov. Wataru Aso said, “We must adopt a stance of accepting training exercises (on the four main islands).” When asked about specific sites that would be available in Fukuoka Prefecture, however, he said, “I cannot discuss speculative questions.” Gov. Hodo Nakamura of Nagasaki Prefecture, where the Sasebo Navy Base is located, said, “It depends on the content (of the exercises). There are problems with noise and crime, and we can’t examine it unless we know the particulars.” However, Miyazaki Prefecture Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru said, “The issue needs to be broadly discussed by the Japanese people as a whole.”