Eliminating the danger posed by the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in the city of Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, is the starting point to solving the U.S. base issue. The Okinawa governor's stance of inciting confrontation with the central government is extremely questionable.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki have met at the Prime Minister's Office to discuss the relocation of the Futenma base to the Henoko district in the city of Nago.
Tamaki visited Abe to report on the results of the prefectural referendum in which 70 percent of the voters opposed the ongoing Henoko reclamation work. The governor called for the suspension of the reclamation work, arguing that Okinawa residents' "calls for abandoning the relocation have become clear."
If the governor prioritizes the outcome of the prefectural referendum, which is not legally binding, it will only lead to aggravating the situation.
Located in a dense residential area, the Futenma base poses the risk of accidents involving residents, and noise damage is also serious.
Abe had every reason to say that "the dangerous situation surrounding Futenma cannot be left unaddressed."
The return of the land used by the Futenma base was agreed upon in 1996 between the Japanese and U.S. governments at the Special Action Committee on Okinawa (SACO) following the strong request of the Okinawa prefectural government.
With SACO in mind, Tamaki proposed to Abe to set up a new consultative organization to discuss the base issue involving the Okinawa prefectural government and the Japanese and U.S. governments.
Is he trying to further delay the return of land occupied by the Futenma base? It is difficult to understand what he is trying to do.
Don't repeat mistakes
In the first place, national security policy should be carried out responsibly by the central government while comprehensively taking into account diplomatic relations and international affairs.
The only feasible option to resolve the Futenma issue is the relocation to Henoko. In an attempt to nullify this option, the then Democratic Party of Japan-led administration of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama encouraged anti-relocation elements by calling for the relocation of the Futenma base to a place outside Okinawa Prefecture, only to end up returning to the option of relocation to Henoko. His poor judgment lacking strategic assessment drove the Futenma issue into disarray.
The same mistake should not be allowed to be repeated.
Five years ago, the government set a goal of terminating the operation of the Futenma base at the end of February this year. As long as it is impossible to obtain the prefecture's cooperation, which is a prerequisite, it is inevitable that the termination cannot be realized.
Given that there is soft ground in waters where the reclamation work is scheduled, the government will study undertaking ground improvement work by driving in about 70,000 piles. If the prefecture does not accept the design change, the central government is ready to file a lawsuit. Should court battles persist, this will lead to the Futenma base remaining permanently.
Tamaki, who emphasizes the prefecture's burden of hosting U.S. bases, should seek a realistic solution that takes into account the benefits to the prefecture as a whole and sincerely hold talks with the central government.
Abe expressed his intention to repeatedly hold talks with Tamaki in the future as well. The prime minister is called on to continue efforts to obtain Tamaki's understanding by explaining the significance of the relocation to Henoko.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 3, 2019)
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