Okinawans furious over U.S. official's reported remarks

The reaction was swift and fierce Tuesday after a former U.S. consul-general in Okinawa was accused of calling residents in the island prefecture "lazy" and saying politicians there engaged in "extortion."

According to notes taken by students who attended the briefing and obtained by The Asahi Shimbun, Kevin Maher, now director of Japan affairs at the State Department, made the remarks in December in Washington.

The Okinawa prefectural assembly Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the statements attributed to Maher and demanded a retraction and apology.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley declined to comment Monday, saying that he was aware of the issue but not aware what was actually said.

In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano referred to reports of Maher's speech during the Upper House Budget Committee session Tuesday, saying: "If they are true, it would be unforgivable as it hurts not just the Okinawa people but also all Japanese."

Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa blasted the reported comments as "berating the people of Okinawa."

The students who compiled the notes said that their understanding was that the session was not considered off the record.

Crowley said the matter will likely be discussed when U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell visits Tokyo on Wednesday and Thursday.

The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo issued a statement Monday saying: "We are aware of the recent news report alleging controversial statements about Japan and Okinawa, attributed to a U.S. government official, which obviously in no way reflect U.S. government views."

According to students who attended the speech on "Military Bases and Their Impacts in Okinawa" at the State Department on Dec. 3, Maher started off by explaining the general situation surrounding U.S. forces in Japan.

In the process of the presentation, he delved into cultural traits, referring to the Japanese tendency to build consensus.

Maher went on to suggest that by pretending to seek consensus, Okinawan people were trying to get as much money as possible from Tokyo, according to the students.

Maher was quoted as saying "Okinawans are masters of manipulation and extortion of Tokyo."

Maher also pointed out that Okinawa's main industry was tourism. While an agricultural industry existed, "other prefectures grow more (goya) than Okinawa," Maher said, in reference to the key vegetable eaten by local residents.

"Okinawans are too lazy to grow goya," Maher allegedly said.

Other points Maher supposedly raised included the Japanese tendency to differentiate between "tatemae" (face value) and "honne" (true intentions) when speaking and that while "Okinawans claim MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) Futenma is the most dangerous base in the world, they know it is not true."

He went on to point out that other commercial airports in Japan are also built in densely populated areas, according to the students.

He also reportedly said that Okinawan politicians will agree to a deal in Tokyo only to return to Okinawa and claim they did not reach an accord.

Tetsuji Shingaki, a prefectural assembly member who heads the Okinawa chapter of the Liberal Democratic Party, blasted the reported comments as "discriminating against Okinawa. Such a person should step down from the post as director of Japan affairs."

Maher served as consul-general for three years from 2006 through 2009. The Okinawa assembly resolution noted that Maher had suggested during his tenure in Okinawa that the Futenma airfield was not particularly dangerous.

Maher currently oversees the negotiations on the Futenma relocation issue.

Ukeru Magosaki, a former director-general at the Foreign Ministry's intelligence and analysis bureau, said that Maher's reported statements on Futenma "reject the principle" agreed upon by Washington and Tokyo that the facility is dangerous and that the burden of U.S. bases on Okinawa needs to be lessened.

Former diplomat and writer Masaru Sato suggested that Maher's comments were made intentionally as a means to pressure Tokyo to force through the relocation of Futenma.

Sato also warned that if Tokyo did not handle the matter properly, it could deteriorate into an "island-wide movement" to oppose bases on Okinawa as seen in the past.