Tamaki Denny, the governor of Okinawa Prefecture, visiting Japan, met with US government officials in Washington on the 18th. The U.S. Army Futenma Airfield (Ginowan City) was asked to review the relocation to Henoko, Nago City, but the US side ended up on a parallel line with the attitude that Henoko was the only solution.
The meeting is not disclosed. According to Governor Tamaki, the head of the US Department of Defense, Mary Beth Morgan's Secretary of Defense, and the Deputy Head of the Department of State, Ted Seger, will be on hand. He pointed out the construction delay due to the soft ground, and asked the Japanese and US governments to re-inspect the redesigned plan with the addition of Okinawa, but there was no concrete response from the US side.
Governor Tamaki met on February 17 and 18 with federal lawmakers who discuss defense authority bills that will form the framework of the US defense budget. When he pointed out that the burden on the US side would increase, a member of the parliament said he wanted to investigate. Governor Tamaki said, “I was worried about whether the US and Japanese governments are sharing (about soft ground, etc.). I was told that the reckless plan should be reviewed.” (Kazuyuki Ito)