Strong political leadership is required to deal effectively with the situation.
The recent crash of a U.S. military helicopter based at the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, was a chilling reminder of the danger this airfield poses. U.S. military aircraft, as part of their operations, fly over surrounding residential areas daily.
Past proposals to reduce the burden on the local community, including an agreement between Japan and the United States to return the Futenma facility, have yet to actually solve the problem.
As mayor of Ginowan, the city the airbase calls home, I cannot accept that no effective steps have been taken to deal with the Futenma problem. This is especially galling given that the U.S. military has been repositioning its forces around the world since last year.
Since the U.S. plan for military realignment was first reported in April 2003, we have been pressing both the Japanese and U.S. governments to take action to sort out this long-festering problem. In July, I visited the United States and urged American government officials and lawmakers to consider closing the Futenma airbase as part of the consolidation of U.S. military bases overseas.
The potential danger of the airfield was recognized even before the latest accident. During my visit, I talked with former members of the Special Action Committee on Okinawa (SACO), the joint Japan-U.S. panel that agreed in 1996 on the return of Futenma within seven years. They told me that Futenma was a time bomb that could explode at any time-a serious accident was just waiting to happen. They also said that the danger has escalated over the nearly eight years since the bilateral agreement on the return of Futenma was concluded.
Ironically, the accident occurred shortly after I returned from the United States.
The helicopter that crashed into a university adjacent to the Futenma Air Station is a model which carries the lowest accident rate among all the copters stationed at the base. Still the accident happened. This is a fact and it must be taken very seriously.
American officials told me that a military airbase where flight drills inevitably involve flying over residential areas with schools and hospitals would be illegal in the United States. There is no other such base in the world, they said.
My visit made me realize that there is a large perception gap between Japan and the United States over the SACO agreement.
The United States apparently views the agreement as a step aimed primarily at easing the burden on local residents as quickly as possible. It places no special importance on the proposed new facility that is to be built in the Henoko district of the city of Nago and will take over the helicopter operational functions of Futenma.
Many people in the United States think the proposed construction of a new facility, which is expected to take more than 10 years according to the current schedule, deviates from the spirit of the agreement. Some argued for a quicker alternative or a switch to another site.
In contrast, the transfer of Futenma’s functions to Henoko is regarded as an “absolute requirement” in Japan. I have urged the Japanese government to press for serious talks with the United States, which is drastically altering its military strategy without sticking to the SACO deal. But all the government officials I talked to cited the bilateral agreement and simply said they will proceed steadily with the plan to relocate Futenma’s functions to Henoko.
They seem to be reluctant to rethink the plan out of a fear that such a review could lead to a proposal to move the base from Okinawa to Japan‘s mainland, which would be a really explosive political issue.
In the United States, 90 military bases and facilities have been closed down through four rounds of consolidation. The U.S. government plans to scrap a quarter of the more than 400 remaining bases at home. The move has provoked calls for a more sweeping review of U.S. bases overseas. While in the United States, I appealed to a committee charged with re-evaluating the U.S. overseas bases for a similar review of the military facilities and operations in Okinawa.
Some 3,000 of the 16,000 Marine troops stationed in Okinawa have been sent to Iraq along with 20 helicopters from Futenma. In addition, the 31st Marine expeditionary unit, with about 2,200 Marines and sailors and 26 helicopters, recently left Okinawa for the Middle East to support the U.S. military operation in Iraq. A total of about 5,000 American troops have been relocated from Okinawa and only 10 helicopters remain here. We want those to be removed as well so that Futenma’s helicopter operational functions will finally be over.
Now that the United States has announced plans to cut American troops stationed overseas by 70,000, I think Japan should demand a substantial curtailment in Okinawa.
The U.S. bases in Japan have been left out of the debate on the U.S. global military restructuring. We are deeply discontented with the uncertain future of U.S. bases in Okinawa.
In dealing with the accident, the Japanese government has been remarkably weak-kneed with regard to on-site inspections and the resumption of flight operations of helicopters of the same model.
However, the perception that the reasoning behind the base’s relocation to Henoko no longer offers a realistic solution to the Futenma issue is spreading among the various political parties.
As a growing number of locals mount calls for the termination of the helicopter operations and an early return of the Futenma base, strong political leadership is required to deal effectively with the situation.
The author is mayor of Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture. He contributed this comment to The Asahi Shimbun. International Herald Tribune/Asahi, September 11, 2004.
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