The Yomiuri ShimbunIt will still take a long time to realize the relocation of the U.S. military’s Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture. The central government must tenaciously convey the significance of the relocation plan.

For the relocation of the Futenma base to the Henoko district in Nago in the prefecture, the Defense Ministry has newly begun putting soil and sand in the 33-hectare second section in the south sea area off the Henoko coast.

Including the first section in which the ministry started the placement of soil and sand at the end of last year, the first and second sections together account for a quarter of the entire 160-hectare planned site for land reclamation. It is important to take into account safety and the environment in the surrounding area and proceed with the work as required.

The Futenma base is an important base of operations for the U.S. Marine Corps. U.S. military units, which can cope flexibly with various crises, are indispensable to the stability of the Asia-Pacific region.

On the other hand, the current situation in which the Futenma base is surrounded by schools and residential areas cannot be allowed to remain unresolved. There is a danger of accidents and the noise pollution is also serious. It is vital to remove the danger while maintaining the U.S. military deterrent for the defense of Japan.

A plan to expand the U.S. military’s Camp Schwab, in the northern part of the prefecture with a relatively low population, and construct an alternative facility can be said to be a realistic option.

In his second meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this year, Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki again urged the central government to halt the landfill work. The prime minister asked Tamaki for understanding about the relocation, so the meeting ended with no progress made.

The governor also has asked for trilateral talks among the Japanese and U.S. governments and Okinawa Prefecture to discuss how to reduce the base-related burden on the prefecture.

Devise realistic solution

Security policies, in themselves, should be promoted by the government, comprehensively taking international situations and other factors into consideration. It is necessary for the central government to take responsibility to deal with base issues, too, while considering the opinions of the prefecture.

There will likely be twists and turns in the landfill work for the base relocation in the future.

As there is soft ground in the northern sea area off the Henoko coast, it will take three years and eight months for the ground improvement work. There is the additional task of driving 77,000 piles into the seabed at a depth of up to 70 meters. It has become difficult to achieve the goal of returning the Futenma base “as early as fiscal 2022,” which both the Japanese and U.S. governments are aiming for.

The Japanese government intends to apply to the prefecture for the design change, but the prefectural government has taken the position that it will not accept it.

How will the central government deal with the prefecture, which continues to take a confrontational approach, and realize the relocation plan? The central government should map out mid- and long-term strategies.

The prefectural government has launched a fresh lawsuit over the base relocation plan to Henoko. It filed a lawsuit with the Naha branch of the Fukuoka High Court against the land minister’s temporary nullification of a decision by the prefecture to withdraw its earlier permission for reclamation work in the Henoko district. It was the first suit filed by the prefecture after Tamaki assumed his post last year.

The problem will not be solved just by the prefectural government countering the central government through lawsuits. Tamaki should seriously discuss the issue with the central government as the head of the prefectural government and continue efforts to find a realistic solution.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 26, 2019)Speech

Speech