Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said he won’t be able to resolve a dispute over a U.S. military base on Okinawa before President Barack Obama comes to Tokyo next week.

Hatoyama is seeking to alter an agreement between the two countries that would relocate the Futenma Airbase within Okinawa, which hosts almost half of the 50,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan. His Democratic Party of Japan wants to move the base off the island, something the Obama administration has refused to consider.

“I don’t intend to come to a conclusion by the time of President Obama’s visit,” Hatoyama said today in parliament. “I don’t intend to prolong the timing pointlessly.”

Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada also said it’s impossible to resolve the issue by next week because the government wants to take the sentiment of the people of Okinawa into consideration.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said two weeks ago in Tokyo that the current plan is “the best alternative for everyone” and that the Obama administration won’t implement a plan to transfer 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam until the issue is settled.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sachiko Sakamaki in Tokyo at Ssakamaki1@bloomberg.net; Takashi Hirokawa in Tokyo at thirokawa@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 5, 2009 21:18 EST