Japan's Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said Friday that the transfer of the heliport facilities of the U.S. military's Futenma air base is a possibility.

Kitazawa said that the transfer of all the base's facilities right away would be difficult to transfer all the functions of the facility in the near future.

"There is the possibility that the danger of the Futenma facility will be partially removed," Kitazawa said at a news conference.

The defense minister also reaffirmed the commitment of the government to see all the land on which the Futenma facility now lies returned to the people of Ginowan City.

The government of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is currently trying to work out how to modify a 2006 Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed between Washington and Tokyo that will see tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel remain in Okinawa Prefecture for the foreseeable future.

The United States has said it would like to stick to the 2006 agreement, while the people of Okinawa have protested against an American military presence remaining in the prefecture.