Futenma Relocation Plan a 'Slap in the Face' to Okinawa People
(Okinawa Times, Japan)
"Right now, the entire Okinawa Prefecture Assembly, 41 mayors from within the prefecture, and all 41 municipal assemblies, oppose the Henoko plan and demand relocation outside the prefecture. How far is the Japanese government willing to 'subordinate itself to the United States' to curry favor with it? And is Okinawa a 'souvenir' for the Japanese government to hand over to America?"
There is no controversy about the fact that the population of Okinawa is sick and tired of American bases and troops. Over 75 percent of the U.S. military presence is situated in Okinawa Prefecture.
The end of January is the deadline for public comment on
the latest environmental impact assessment on relocating the U.S. Marine base from Futenma to Henoko. Now the focus shifts to a time frame
for seeking permits for the reclamation of land in public waters, which is
critical to relocating the base to Henoko. The application to do so must be made by the
central government to the Okinawa governor. Internal central government memos make clear that a
date in February has been chosen for the request, prior to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the United States. And at his meetings
with Obama Administration officials, reports are that Abe intends to plead for
progress on the Futenma issue.
[Editor's Note: Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima has made it clear that relocating the base to Henoko, which requires land fill, would be essentially impossible due to local opposition. He has called for the base to be relocated outside of Okinawa prefecture, where over 75 percent of all U.S. bases in Japan are located.]
But Abe must clearly convey to the U.S. government that there has been no change in the stance of the Okinawa Prefecture, even if the Democratic Party's administration of Japan has given way a Liberal Democratic one.
As it was put by prefectural spokesman Susumu Matayoshi,
who is currently visiting the United States, the Henoko
relocation is "effectively impossible."
Right now, the entire Okinawa Prefecture Assembly, 41 mayors from within the prefecture, and all 41 municipal assemblies, oppose
the Henoko plan and demand relocation outside the
prefecture. How far is the Japanese government willing to "subordinate
itself to the United States" to curry favor with it? And is Okinawa a "souvenir"
for the Japanese government to hand over to America?
If Tokyo goes ahead and files its land reclamation application
before Abe's visit to the United States, the rift with Okinawa will be critical.
Perhaps this is a government trial balloon to measure Okinawa's
reaction? Such an aim is greatly divorced from the prefecture's impatience with
the status quo and its "All Okinawa" mass rallies against [Futenma's]
relocation to Henoko.
The land reclamation application would be nothing but a
slap to the face of the peoples' will, and would empower pro-base construction
companies and the like, thereby deepening regional antagonism. From now on, violent unrest involving public works projects like a second
runway at Naha Airport and the perceived threat from China can be excected.
It is absolutely essential to maintain solidarity within
the prefecture if we are to resist unreasonable government policy on the bases -
which is essentially to thrust them willy-nilly into Okinawa.
During the "struggle of the island" against
the land confiscations of the 1950s, in talks with the United States, Okinawa administrations,
assemblies and residents presented the "four principles of land protection."
In today's "struggle of the island" over the bases issue, aren't the
following four principles the greatest common distillation of public opinion?
1) Opposition to the Henoko relocation, 2) Opposition
to deployment of the Osprey aircraft, 3) Review of the U.S.-Japan Status of
Forces Agreement, 4) Opposition to the discriminatory policy of establishing
bases by force.
Posted by Worldmeets.US
To follow through on these four new principles, one must stubbornly
continue a variety of approaches, not just within the prefecture, but on the
mainland and abroad. The Tokyo Action planned for the 27th and 28th of the
month by Okinawa's 41 mayors is an element of this. It is vital for this work to
be continued - and with no flagging.
Former Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto admits that the when it comes to Futenma's relocation, "militarily doesn’t have to be in Okinawa, but
politically speaking, Okinawa is the most appropriate place." This is nothing
less than hate speech.
As tension between Japan and China over the Senkaku Islands has risen, some on the mainland have begun
to consider Osprey deployment in Okinawa or Futenma's relocation to Henoko to be "inevitable." But the fact is that
the U.S. Marine Corps. isn't stationed in Okinawa for the purpose of protecting
Japan.
While the government emphasizes the maintenance of
deterrence, the deterrent of Marines stationed in Okinawa is a mirage to begin
with: there are no good reasons for their presence.
