Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the third meeting of the Council for Promoting the Alleviation of the Burden of Futenma Air Station at the Prime Minister's Office.
During the meeting, discussion took place on the ongoing status of staging   the burden alleviation promotion working group and other matters, as well as the status of the efforts for alleviating the burden of Futenma Air Station, etc.
The Prime Minister said in his opening address,
“I would like to offer my sincerest appreciation for the attendance today of Governor Nakaima of Okinawa Prefecture and Mayor Sakima of Ginowan City despite their busy schedules.
We are carefully addressing the four requests received from Governor Nakaima on alleviating the burden of the bases, and we consider them to represent the views of all the people of Okinawa Prefecture. We are exerting every effort to fulfil these requests in line with the basic stance to ‘do everything that the Government can possibly do.’ Furthermore, as an example of this, I recently appointed Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga to the position of Minister in charge of Alleviating the Burden of the Bases in Okinawa.
The Abe Cabinet does not offer merely words. We are taking actual action to alleviate the burden on Okinawa. I do not believe that we could have brought these initiatives to fruition without the strong determination and assistance of Governor Nakaima. Today, I would like to communicate directly to the Governor and Mayor the main achievements of the Abe Cabinet’s actions, which are the Japan-U.S. joint press statement  and specific initiatives for fulfilling the four requests.
First, today, there was   a joint press statement from the Governments of Japan and the United States that sets out both countries’ initiatives related to alleviating the burden on Okinawa. This includes explanations of the ways in which we will address the requests of Governor Nakaima.
I will now explain the specific initiatives in the following order.
First, the Japanese and U.S. Governments have achieved substantial agreement on an Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Stewardship Relating to the United States Armed Forces in Japan, which would supplement the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement.  We have made many operational improvements to the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement to date, but this is the first time we have achieved such an international commitment since the signing of the Agreement 54 years ago. The Government took into account the views of Governor Nakaima, exerting every effort over the course of long negotiations, and were finally able to achieve this result.
This supplemental agreement includes the ability to access and conduct surveys in U.S. facilities and areas, and the application of the stricter of the environmental protection standards of the US and Japan, as requested by the Governor . We will aim to formally sign this agreement at the earliest possible date.
The second is related to the transfer of KC-130 tanker planes to Iwakuni. The transfer to Iwakuni of 15 KC-130 tanker planes, which were deployed at Futenma Air Station, has been an issue for over 18 years. We brought this matter to a close in August this year. Apart from communications aircraft, no fixed-wing aircraft will be dispatched to Futenma. Furthermore, along with that transfer, approximately 870 members of the military, civilians employed by the military, and their families, will be relocated outside of Okinawa Prefecture.
If you take a look at this panel, the actual results from our investigation into the effects of this transfer are plain to see. You can see a dramatic reduction in the number of KC-130 take-offs and landings in Futenma. We have confirmed these clear results. In the joint statement, Japan and the United States confirm that the transfer of the KC-130s has reduced U.S. military aircraft operations  in the vicinity around Futenma Air Station.
The third point that is confirmed by Japan and the United States in the joint statement is that we will continue to make steady progress towards conducting training drills and other activities by Osprey aircraft outside Okinawa Prefecture. In addition to steadily increasing the number of Osprey training drills conducted outside of the Prefecture, we will also prepare the necessary training infrastructure and locations to ensure the smooth transfer of said training drills. Related to this point, the joint statement also states that the two governments are to consider ways to conduct training in other locations in Japan, taking account of the Ground Self-Defense Force’s initiative for constructing facilities for its own future tilt-rotor aircraft in mainland Japan. 
Understanding and cooperation on the mainland are indispensable in order to further alleviate the burden placed on Okinawa. Movement has started among mainland municipalities toward resolutions and other actions to share the burden across the entire country. In addition, Osprey are effective for disaster relief and humanitarian aid, so some municipalities are considering inviting these aircraft. The Government welcomes such movement toward understanding and cooperation, and is determined to exert even greater effort to further enlarge those movements.
Moreover, the joint statement makes clear the U.S. Government’s plans to explore ways for U.S. Marine Corps units in Okinawa to increase training activities in other locations in the Asia-Pacific region.  The Government will exert every effort to ensure that these U.S. initiatives, coupled with the aforementioned initiatives on the Japanese mainland, lead to the further promotion of the transfer of Osprey training drills outside Okinawa Prefecture.
Additionally, we will continue to seek cooperation with the U.S. side regarding external aircraft arriving at Futenma and conducting training drills in that vicinity.
Finally, there is the early return of areas south of Kadena, including Camp Kinser. In the joint statement Japan and the United States reconfirm the importance of land returns south of Kadena Air Base , including Camp Kinser. The U.S. side has already completed a master plan for the relocation of a portion of the Camp Kinser facilities, and the Japanese Government is assisting with the creation of a master plan for the rest. We aim to accelerate this process and shorten the time needed for the return of land to the greatest extent possible.
In addition, as put forwards in the joint statement, the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps personnel from Okinawa to regions outside of Japan, including Guam, leading towards the return of associated land to Japan, will be promoted. Based on the Guam International Agreement that was revised in May of this year, we will continue to steadily promote cooperation toward the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps personnel to areas outside Japan.
That is all for my explanation. I pledge that the Cabinet as a whole will continue to exert every effort to alleviate the burden placed on Okinawa, including the removal of the dangers posed by Futenma Air Station.”