CDPJ Chief Edano Highlights Importance of Japan-U.S. Alliance

September 14, 2018

Washington- Yukio Edano, leader of the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said Thursday that his party puts great importance on the Japan-U.S. alliance.

"A sound Japan-U.S. alliance is the foundation of Japan's foreign policy," Edano said in a speech at George Washington University.

The CDPJ will seek to develop the alliance further while giving importance to some 70 years of friendship and trust between the two countries since the end of World War II, he said.

Edano expressed opposition to the Japanese government's plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma base in Ginowan in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa to the Henoko coastal area in Nago, another Okinawa city.

He claimed that it would be difficult to win support from Okinawa residents to construct a Futenma replacement facility in Henoko and that the base construction without public understanding would undermine relations between the two countries.

Edano suggested that his party will pursue a solution that would achieve a return of the Futenma site without bringing any negative impact on bilateral relations.

He also proposed that Tokyo establish a liaison office in Pyongyang to help solve the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea.

This is the first foreign trip by Edano since he became CDPJ chief in October last year, when the party was created. Jiji Press