Monday, November 30, 2009

The Prime Minister Meets with Governor of Okinawa Prefecture Hirokazu Nakaima

    Monday, November 30, 2009

    Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama met with Mr. Hirokazu Nakaima, Governor of Okinawa Prefecture, at the Prime Minister's Office. The Prime Minister received from the Governor the Request for the Promotion of the Resolution of the Issue of the US Bases in Okinawa Prefecture.

    Photo: Prime Minister Hatoyama exchanging views with Governor of Okinawa Prefecture Hirokazu Nakaima













    Photo: Prime Minister Hatoyama receiving a request from Governor of Okinawa Prefecture Hirokazu Nakaima
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U.S. envoy tells Okinawa governor existing plan only viable option

    Nov 30 05:16 AM US/Eastern

    (AP) - NAHA, Japan, Nov. 30 (Kyodo) — U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos told Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima on Monday that moving a U.S. military base within the prefecture as agreed under a 2006 bilateral deal is the "best and only viable option."

    The meeting came about as the U.S. envoy set foot on the island earlier in the day for the first time as envoy for a three-day stay. The two countries are continuing to discuss the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station to a new airfield in Okinawa.

    In the meeting, which was open to reporters, Nakaima noted that calls are growing in Okinawa for moving the base outside the prefecture rather than relocating it elsewhere on the island, and asked when a high-level bilateral working group intends to finish reviewing the matter.

    "As soon as possible," Roos said, adding that the group, in which he participates as a member, is working diligently to resolve the issue. "I'm hopeful that, again, we reach an expeditious conclusion because I think it's important to do so, and I know you do, too."

    The existing relocation plan was agreed between the two countries in 2006 as part of the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, but Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has revisited the issue, indicating that the base could be moved off the prefecture to ease base-hosting burdens on local residents.

    The issue has grown into a major sticking point straining the bilateral alliance.

    During the meeting, Nakaima also addressed a recent fatal hit-and-run incident in Okinawa in which a U.S. Army service member is alleged to have run over a local villager. He asked Roos that the United States cooperate with local police in conducting investigations.

    Roos offered condolences to the victim's family and said his commitment as U.S. ambassador is to cooperate "in any way we can" to help resolve the case.

    Noting that more than 20 incidents and accidents take place in Okinawa every month in connection with the U.S. military based here, Nakaima said to Roos, "I urge you to make efforts to reduce them as close to zero as possible."

    Vice Gov. Zenki Nakazato, who joined the same meeting, told Roos he hopes the ambassador will use his legal background as a lawyer to address issues concerning the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement, which governs the operations of the U.S. military in Japan.

    Prior to the meeting, Roos, who assumed the ambassadorship in August, visited the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman on the island's southern tip to lay flowers there. The area was one of the fiercest battlegrounds in World War II.

    After surveying the stone monuments on which the names of more than 240,000 people who died in the Battle of Okinawa are inscribed, Roos referred to his visit to the park as "very powerful."

    On Tuesday, the envoy will survey U.S. military bases on the island. He is also expected to meet with Marine Lt. Gen. Terry Robling, the top commander of U.S. forces on the island.

    Under the 2006 agreement, the Futemma facility in a crowded residential area of Ginowan will be moved to a new airfield to be built at the Marines' Camp Schwab in Nago by 2014, and as part of the package 8,000 Marines will be moved from Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam.

    But Hatoyama, who took office in September following the general election victory of his Democratic Party of Japan, has suggested moving the base out of Okinawa or out of the country altogether.

    With Washington urging Tokyo to stick to the existing deal, the two countries have launched the working group to study the matter and agreed to reach a conclusion "expeditiously."

    While calls are growing in Okinawa to relocate the Futemma base outside the prefecture, Nakaima has so far maintained his conditional support for the Nago relocation plan.
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U.S. Ambassador Roos visits Okinawa, meets governor

    Nov 30 03:45 AM US/Eastern

    NAHA, Japan, Nov. 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos set foot in Okinawa Prefecture on Monday for the first time as envoy and met with Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima to exchange opinions about the relocation of a U.S. military base on the island.

    In the meeting, Nakaima noted that there are growing calls in Okinawa for the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station to be moved outside of the prefecture, rather than relocated elsewhere on the island as agreed under a 2006 bilateral agreement.

    Roos said during the meeting, which was open to reporters, that relocating the facility within the island as currently planned is the "best and only viable option," adding that he is hopeful that a bilateral working group studying the matter will reach an expeditious conclusion, "Because I think it's important to do so, and I know you do, too."

    The ambassador's visit comes as the two countries are continuing to discuss the planned relocation of the Futemma facility to a new airfield in Okinawa.

    The relocation was agreed between the two countries in 2006 as part of the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, but Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has revisited the issue, indicating that the base could be moved out of the prefecture to ease the burden of hosting bases on local residents.

    The issue has grown into a major sticking point straining the bilateral alliance.

    Prior the meeting, Roos, who assumed his post in August, visited the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman on the island's southern tip to lay flowers. The area was one of the fiercest battlegrounds in World War II.

    During his three-day stay, Roos also plans to survey U.S. military installations on Okinawa and to meet Marine Lt. Gen. Terry Robling, the top commander of U.S. forces on the island.

    Under the 2006 agreement, the Futemma facility, located in a crowded residential area of Ginowan, will be moved to a new airfield to be built at the U.S. Marines' Camp Schwab in Nago by 2014 and 8,000 Marines will be moved from Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam.

    But Hatoyama, who took office in September following the general election victory of his Democratic Party of Japan, has suggested moving the base out of Okinawa or out of the country altogether.

    With Washington urging Tokyo to stick to the existing deal, the two countries launched the working group to study the matter and agreed to reach a conclusion "expeditiously." Roos participates in the discussions as a member of the group.

    While calls are growing in Okinawa for the Futemma base to be relocated outside of the prefecture, Gov. Nakaima has so far maintained his conditional support for the Nago relocation plan.
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Hatoyama not to stand down over false funds reports

    Nov 30 03:04 AM US/Eastern

    TOKYO, Nov. 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Monday he will remain in his post unless he is prosecuted over alleged irregularities in his political funds reports.

    "In light of the decision to be made by law enforcement authorities (on the case), I would like to fulfill my duties as prime minister," Hatoyama told a plenary session of the House of Councillors, suggesting he will not resign even if his former secretary, who served as treasurer of his fund management body, is formally charged over the case.

    Hatoyama, who has remained tightlipped on the donations scandal, citing that it is under investigation, also said he will give a full account of the case once the authorities have completed their probe and clarified the whole picture. "I sincerely apologize for the matter," he told the Diet.

    Prosecutors suspect that more than 300 million yen may have been falsely declared in Hatoyama's political funds reports and that his mother may have contributed some of the money, according to sources close to the matter.

    It has been reported that Hatoyama received a total of 900 million yen from his mother Yasuko over the five years to 2008 and some of the money may have been recorded as donations from fictitious donors in his political funds reports.

    While telling the upper house plenary session that he had not been aware of the matter, he also said, "If there were any contributions by my mother, I will take appropriate action according to the law."

    If the contributions were problematic in relation to tax, Hatoyama said he will deal with them appropriately by submitting amended tax returns and other measures.

    If Hatoyama's mother did donate the money to his Yuai Seikei Konwa-kai political fund management body, it would constitute a violation of the Political Funds Control Law, which limits donations to a politician to 1.5 million yen per person per annum.
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Chinese defense chief on board high-tech Japanese Aegis vessel

    Nov 29 11:43 PM US/Eastern

    SASEBO, Japan, Nov. 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — China's Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, in a rare step Monday by a Chinese dignitary, visited a Japanese Maritime Self- Defense Force destroyer equipped with the Aegis combat system in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture.

    Liang boarded the MSDF Aegis destroyer Chokai at the U.S. naval base in Sasebo following a welcome ceremony by the MSDF. He was accompanied by U.S. military officials and the scope of his visit was limited as much information about the ship is secret, including the air defense system developed by the United States, according to the MSDF.

    The MSDF had considered showing an Aegis vessel to the crew of a Chinese warship that made a historic port call to Japan in November but canceled the plan out of consideration for the United States.

    At that time the United States was nervous about Japan's sloppy management of Aegis ship-related intelligence, in the wake of MSDF officials leaking information.

    This time the Chinese side hoped to visit an MSDF ship and the Defense Ministry selected the Chokai.

    A senior Defense Ministry said, "By pushing for transparency, we intend to call on China to make its military forces more transparent."

    A senior MSDF official said the United States has dispatched an Aegis vessel to a ceremony in China. "We have selected an appropriate ship to promote defense exchanges," the official said.

    In talks with Liang in Tokyo last Friday, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told him, "The transparency of Japan's defense policy is high and there is nothing to conceal."


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Hatoyama says Futemma decision to be made after working group talks

    Nov 29 11:27 PM US/Eastern

    (AP) - TOKYO, Nov. 30 (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima Monday that his government will make a decision on where to relocate a U.S. military base in the prefecture after the ongoing Japan-U.S. working-level talks on the issue come to a conclusion, Nakaima said.

    After their meeting at the premier's office, Nakaima told reporters that he urged Hatoyama to work out a "concrete road map" as soon as possible toward removing what he calls the danger of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Ginowan.

    The governor reiterated that moving the air station outside the southernmost prefecture is "the best choice" for people in Okinawa who have hosted the bulk of U.S. military forces stationed in Japan and that he hopes the government will draw up a road map toward the choice.

    But Nakaima indicated that if that takes too long, his local government would accept other options to immediately move the base that the local residents consider dangerous, as that is the purpose for the Futemma relocation plan.

    Hatoyama replied that the state government would deal with the relocation after the working group between the Japanese and U.S. officials reach a conclusion.

    Under the 2006 agreement, Japan and the United States agreed to transfer the air station that currently sits in the center of a residential area in the city of Ginowan to the coastal area of the Marines' Camp Schwab in a less densely populated area in Nago, another city in Okinawa, by 2014.

    The accord is part of a broader Japan-U.S. agreement on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan and also involves the transfer of around 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam. It was agreed on under a previous Japanese government led by the Liberal Democratic Party, which is now the main opposition party.

    Hatoyama told Nakaima in Monday's talks that he is aware that residents in Okinawa have been stepping up calls for moving the facility outside the prefecture since Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan took office in mid-September, according to Nakaima.

    Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada has indicated that the issue must be solved by the end of this year, while Hatoyama retorted that they are not at the stage of being able to come up with a decision by the year- end.

    Japan and the United States set up a working group to examine the process leading up to the two countries reaching the 2006 accord.

    Washington has urged Tokyo to stick to the agreement, while showing a certain level of understanding for the Japanese government's plan to reexamine the accord following a change of power.

    In a related move, Akihisa Nagashima, Japan's parliamentary defense secretary, indicated that members of the government mostly share a view that moving the facility outside Okinawa or Japan is realistically difficult to achieve.

    "It is easy to say, 'Move it outside the prefecture or outside the country,' but realistically difficult -- that is a view mostly shared by the government," Nagashima said on a TV program Monday morning.

    At a press conference, however, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said he does not think that such a view is necessarily shared within the government.
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Social Democratic Party Discusses Futenma

    県外・国外求めアピール　普天間で社民党
    2009年11月30日

    　全国専従者交流会で来県中の社民党の渕上貞雄副党首、重野安正幹事長らは２９日、那覇市内で記者会見し、普天間飛行場の即時閉鎖・返還と県外・国外移設を求める緊急アピールを発表した。重野幹事長は「結論は急がないという鳩山首相の考え方は支持する。しっかり時間をかけて県民の期待に応える道を模索するべきで、早期に結論が出るはずはない」と述べ、辺野古移設で年内の決着を急ぐ動きをけん制した。

    　一行は同日、名護市辺野古、嘉手納飛行場、普天間飛行場を訪れ、沖縄の基地負担の現状などを視察した。緊急アピールでは「過酷な現状を見るほど、宝の海を壊してまで沖縄にこれ以上の軍事基地が必要ないことは明白だ」と指摘。「首相が政権合意を守り、連立政権の信義を大事にし、県民の負担軽減のために普天間飛行場は即時閉鎖・返還し、県外・国外へ移設するよう最後まで闘う」と表明した。

    　会見で、政府が辺野古移設の結論を出した場合に、連立を離脱するかどうかを問われた重野幹事長は「今ここでどうするかは慎重であるべきで、あえて発言はしない。ただ、必ずしも政府内でも意思統一はなされていない」と述べるにとどめた。

    http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-153543-storytopic-3.html

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Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima Meets the PM in Tokyo

    普天間移設　首相と知事、「県外」求める県内世論への認識共有

    2009年11月30日

    　【東京】仲井真弘多知事は３０日朝、鳩山由紀夫首相と官邸で会談し、米軍普天間飛行場移設など基地問題の解決を求めた。仲井真知事によると、双方とも県民の多数が普天間の県外移設を求めているという県内世論への認識は共有したが、辺野古を含む県内移設については言及しなかったという。

    仲井真知事は会談の冒頭、「県内では、普天間飛行場の県外移設を求める県民の期待が高まっている」と説明した上で、普天間飛行場の一日も早い危険性除去を求めた。また、返還される基地の跡地利用への協力も求めた。鳩山首相は「政権交代し、県民の県外移設へとの思いは高まっている」と応じた。【琉球新報電子版】

    http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-153545-storytopic-3.html
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Osaka governor opens door to moving Futenma base to Kansai airport

    November 30, 2009

    Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto said Monday morning that he would consider accepting the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa to Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture if requested by the national government.

    His remarks, which came as Japan and the United States are in last-minute negotiations on Futenma relocation, are likely to create a stir.

    "It's my personal opinion," Hashimoto told reporters. "If we receive a request from the central government, we will be receptive to such discussions."

    Specifically, the governor said he would consider accepting joint use of Kansai International Airport by civilian airlines and U.S. forces, and move some of the drills conducted at Kadena Air Base to Kansai to reduce noise pollution around the base.

    Citing the fierce Okinawa ground battle at the end of World War II, the governor said, "Okinawa was forced to shoulder a heavy burden, so we residents of Honshu Island must consider it."

    Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Monday he intends to make a final decision on the relocation of Futenma base at an early date.

    "One cannot tell what will happen if a decision on the Futenma issue is delayed indefinitely. It'd be irresponsible if it's postponed without a clear deadline," Hatoyama told reporters after he held talks on the issue with Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima at the Prime Minister's Office Monday.

    Secret talks with Nakaima were also held on Friday, and Hatoyama is expected to speed up the government's efforts to settle the issue after listening to the situation in Okinawa from the governor.

    In Monday's talks, Nakaima asked the prime minister to make a quick decision. But while Hatoyama said that he "understands local residents' hardships," he stopped short of clarifying when and where the base will be relocated.

    Washington has urged Tokyo to go ahead with the current plan, agreed upon under the previous Liberal Democratic Party government.

    A Japan-U.S. Cabinet-level working group will make a recommendation on Futenma relocation at an early date.

    While maintaining that relocation out of the prefecture is the best option, Nakaima apparently reiterated his intention to accept the bilateral agreement to relocate Futenma base in Ginowan to an area off Camp Schwab in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, on condition that it be built farther away from the land than originally planned.

    However, the two coalition partners of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan -- the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party -- are opposed to the original plan, and has urged the prime minister to consider the matter cautiously.

    (Mainichi Japan) November 30, 2009

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Mainichi :: Monday, November 30, 2009

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Japan Times :: Monday, November 30, 2009

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Nikai's aide falls under fresh scrutiny

    THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

    2009/11/30

    Prosecutors have questioned an aide to former industry minister Toshihiro Nikai in a fresh probe over allegations Nishimatsu Construction Co. illegally donated 9 million yen to the Liberal Democratic Party branch Nikai headed, sources said.

    Investigators from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office are expected to determine by the end of the year whether they have enough evidence to establish a case against the aide, the sources said.

    The money from Nishimatsu, a second-tier general contractor whose former president was previously found guilty of making illegal political donations, was listed in the branch's political fund reports as anonymous individual contributions, the sources said.

    Falsifying political fund reports constitutes a violation of the Political Fund Control Law.

    Nikai, a Lower House member, is one of the lawmakers to whom Nishimatsu allegedly made illegal donations.

    In July, Mikio Kunisawa, former president of Nishimatsu, received a suspended sentence for hiding his company's illegal donations to organizations led by Ichiro Ozawa, former president of the Democratic Party of Japan.

    Takanori Okubo, a former Ozawa aide in charge of accounting at Rikuzankai, the DPJ powerbroker's fund management organization, was indicted in March for falsifying reports in connection with illegal donations from Nishimatsu.

    The investigations into Nishimatsu's illegal donations would conclude with a decision by prosecutors on Nikai's case, the sources said.

    According to officials with Nishimatsu and other sources, a consulting company headed by a former Nishimatsu employee bought a condominium in Osaka in 1999 with loans from Nishimatsu.

    The consulting company had leased the condo to Kansai Shinpukai, a political organization linked to the group of Nikai's supporters and in which Nikai's brother was involved, for about 2.8 million yen annually until around February this year.

    To pick up the tab, Nishimatsu made it appear as though 60 employees each donated 50,000 yen to the LDP branch Nikai headed--for an annual total of about 3 million yen--for three years from 2006, the sources said.

    In the branch's political fund reports, about 3 million yen was listed for donations from individuals for each of the three years.

    Under law, political fund reports do not need to disclose names of those who contributed up to 50,000 yen a year.

    Nishimatsu officials apparently told investigators that they funneled the donations to shoulder the rent and that they made the arrangement after consulting with Nikai's aide.

    The aide, who cooperated with investigators for voluntary questioning in April, denied the allegations.

    (IHT/Asahi: November 30,2009)

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1.1 billion yen came from Hatoyama, mom

    THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

    2009/11/30

    Approximately 1.15 billion yen was funneled by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his mother to the prime minister's political activities between 2004 and 2008, sources said.

    Of that amount, prosecutors have determined that about 350 million yen was used for fake donations or to inflate sales of fund-raising party tickets listed in political fund reports for the five-year period by Yuai Seikei Konwa-kai (Fraternity association of politics and economics), Hatoyama's fund management organization, the sources said.

    False entries in the political fund reports may have started more than a decade ago, the sources said.

    Prosecutors are expected to indict Hatoyama's former state-funded aide, who was in charge of compiling the political fund reports, on suspicion of violating the Political Fund Control Law by falsifying entries in the reports.

    So far, however, prosecutors have no evidence showing Hatoyama's direct involvement.

    Prosecutors will likely decide before the end of the year whether to take any action against Hatoyama and his former policy aide who was treasurer for Yuai Seikei Konwa-kai.

    Hatoyama until now has said that he never knew that money from his mother, Yasuko, was used to cover the false entries.

    Of the 350 million yen or so used for fake entries, about 200 million yen was used for fake donations, and about 150 million yen was falsely padded on as income from fund-raising party ticket sales, the sources said.

    Investigators have broken down the fake donations more specifically. More than 20 million yen was listed as donations from people whose names were used without their knowledge, including a number of dead people.

    The fake donations also covered a large part of the approximately 177.17 million yen that was listed as coming from anonymous donors on grounds that each donor contributed 50,000 yen or less annually.

    Investigators have determined that a large part of the money came from Rokko Shokai, a company that manages the Hatoyama family's assets.

    About 900 million yen in assets held by Yasuko Hatoyama was given to her son for his political activities between 2004 and 2008, the sources said. Every month, 15 million yen was given by Yasuko to her son, for an annual total of 180 million yen.

    Separately, Hatoyama's former state-funded aide withdrew about 250 million yen from assets held by the prime minister over the five-year period, with an average 50 million yen withdrawn each year.

    The approximately 800 million yen withdrawn from Hatoyama and his mother's assets managed by Rokko Shokai that was not used for the fake entries in the political fund reports was apparently spent for Hatoyama's personal activities or was distributed to his other organizations.

    Sources said there was the possibility that those organizations may have also falsified the source of the funds.

    The money given by Yasuko to her son has been explained as "loans," but apparently no repayment has been made.

    If no repayment is made, the money would be considered a gift rather than a loan, and the prime minister would have to submit revised income tax forms to pay a gift tax.

    (IHT/Asahi: November 30,2009)

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EDITORIAL: Secret Japan-U.S. pacts

    2009/11/30

    The investigation, ordered by Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, into the alleged secret pacts between Japan and the United States is entering its final stages. The ministry's investigation team has finished its in-house probe. On Friday, a panel of outside experts kicked off its inquiry. The results will be released in mid-January.

    The ministry's team has discovered documents, among Japanese files, that substantiate the existence of a secret pact between the two governments allowing the United States to carry nuclear weapons into Japanese territory without prior consultation. The pact was agreed upon when the Japan-U.S. security treaty was revised.

    The existence of this pact was already an open secret, revealed by testimony by former U.S. government officials and U.S. documents declassified under the Freedom of Information Act. Yet, successive Liberal Democratic Party governments and Foreign Ministry bureaucrats denied its existence. Their lies have now been demolished.

    This would never have happened had there not been a change of government.

    The documents show there was a secret understanding that entry of U.S. vessels carrying nuclear weapons into Japanese ports or passing through Japanese territorial waters do not constitute "bringing in" nuclear weapons into Japan, which would require prior consultation.

    Since the Foreign Ministry has not yet released its findings, we still do not know specific details of this pact, nor do we know to what extent the possible existence of yet another alleged secret pact, allowing the entry of nuclear weapons into Okinawa in emergency situations, has been uncovered.

    The expert panel should review and disclose the contents and negotiations of the secret pacts. The panel should also review the ministry's probe to see if it missed anything, including how the secret pacts were kept from the public and the results should be disclosed.

    The matter strikes at the core of the nation's democracy, for it is about how the government deceived the public for such a long time.

    The Japan-U.S. security treaty marks its 50th anniversary next year, and the two governments are preparing to discuss ways to deepen their alliance. In order to realize what the foreign minister calls a "diplomacy based on the public's understanding and trust," we urge the government to release its information as soon as possible.

    Moreover, we ask the expert panel to analyze the historical background of why and how the pacts came into being.

    It is not commendable diplomacy for a democratic country to agree on a secret pact that cannot be revealed to the public. Even if there were extenuating circumstances making the pact necessary at the time, records should be released as soon as possible, and be exposed to the judgement of history.

    Regarding the documents related to the secret pacts, it is said high-ranking Foreign Ministry officials ordered their destruction around 2001, when the nation's information disclosure law took effect. It must be clarified if this was true, and if so who issued the order.

    As a rule, diplomatic documents are made public after 30 years, but they remain classified in many cases at the discretion of the Foreign Ministry. Documents concerning such key issues as the revision of the Japan-U.S. security treaty, the Okinawa handover and the negotiation process on normalization of relations between Japan and South Korea remain classified, although related documents have all been declassified by Japan's counterpart governments. We hope the expert panel produces some concrete recommendations to improve the situation of declassifying documents.

    If the government officially admits the existence of the secret pacts, it is bound to put under the spotlight the government's three nonnuclear principles--nuclear weapons shall not be possessed, made nor enter Japan.

    Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama promised at the summit of the United Nations Security Council in September that Japan will uphold the three principles. That judgement was realistic and appropriate. We hope the past 50 years will be reviewed with clear and penetrating eyes.

    --The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 28(IHT/Asahi: November 30,2009)

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Asahi :: Monday, November 30, 2009




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Futenma relocation prompts mixed feelings



    Yoshifumi Sugita / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

    NAGO, Okinawa--Nago, the city designated by a Japan-U.S. agreement to accommodate an alternative facility to replace the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, continues to be buffeted by controversy.

    Nago has been shaken by the stance of the administration of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, which aims to reexamine the bilateral pact that was reached in 2006.

    Since the administration's September launch, its stance has given a boost to those who favor relocating Futenma Air Station outside the prefecture or the nation.

    It is unavoidable that the relocation issue will be a focal point in the Nago mayoral election to be held on Jan. 24.

    Residents in the Henoko district of the city, where the alternative facility to Futenma was scheduled to be built, were weary of the prime minister's reluctance to show any clear resolve about making a final decision on the issue.

    The Henoko district is 12 kilometers southeast of central Nago and is adjacent to the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Schwab, which plans to accommodate the alternative facility for Futenma Air Station.

    The area is known as Apple Town, named after Harry Apple, a U.S. major who cooperated in the development of the area when Okinawa Prefecture was still occupied by the United States.

    The area hosts about 20 bars and restaurants. During the Vietnam War, the area was one of the liveliest entertainment districts in the northern part of the prefecture, but in recent years, its neon signs have been gradually disappearing.

    However, Futenma relocation opponents recently set up a tent community on a nearby beach, injecting activity into the area not seen in years. The activists opposing Futenma's relocation to Henoko intensified their campaign due to the expectation the air station might be moved outside the prefecture or the nation.

    Katsumi Shiroma, 66, who runs a bar called Texas in Apple Town, sighed as she described her mixed feelings on the issue.

    "Only a few people in the tent community are [actually] Henoko residents," she said. "Of course, I'm unhappy about the concentration of U.S. military bases in Okinawa Prefecture. But if the bases disappear, we'll lose our livelihoods."

    Shiroma married her husband 45 years ago and moved to the Henoko district, where the couple has run the bar since.

    Though her bar is not as busy as in earlier years, U.S. marines still gather there after the finish their day's training to relax and play eight-ball. Taco-rice dishes were customer favorites.

    The couple have been able to make ends meet operating their bar, describing their customer makeup as about 70 percent U.S. marines and 30 percent local residents.

    Shiroma said she had worried about noise problems in 1996, when the Henoko district was first mentioned as a candidate for Futenma's relocation.

    But though Shiroma could not wholeheartedly welcome the plan, she said she could accept it if the runways were located offshore and if the town could benefit economically.

    On whether Futenma Air Station should be moved outside the prefecture or overseas, she said, "We don't care which option is to be taken, because it was not us who invited the air station [in the first place]."

    But she nonetheless openly expressed anger, adding, "However, if Mr. Hatoyama again asks that the new facility be built here, that's asking too much."

    ===

    City thirsty for govt help

    The relocation issue has been a focus of three mayoral elections in Nago and also caused sparks in a local referendum.

    The city at the heart of the political dispute has struggled for years to glean the best possible deal from the government.

    Kenyu Shimabukuro, chairman of the Nago Municipal Assembly, has been involved in the city's negotiations with the government for a long period.

    "I was afraid the government would enforce its plan unilaterally in the end," Shimabukuro, 61, said. "I decided to accept the plan so we could secure benefits for Nago citizens."

    Nago has already received some hefty subsidies, including 24.1 billion yen paid by the government as part of projects promoting the development of the northern part of the main Okinawa island. The subsidies, including 4.3 billion yen to build a telecommunications center, created welcome jobs for Henoko residents.

    Nago is planning projects to develop the city in anticipation of more government handouts--such as those that would accompany the relocation of the U.S. forces--under the assumption that the air station will be moved to the city.

    Shimabukuro said, "I don't care whether the base comes [to Nago], but the government must keep its promise to promote the city."

    ===

    Mayoral election heats up

    Reflecting the mixed feelings of 60,000 Nago citizens, the battle for the city's mayoral election is heating up.

    Groups opposed to the air station's relocation agreed to work together after the prime minister indicated he might refrain from making a decision on the Futenma issue until the mayoral election is over. On Nov. 18, the groups decided to band together in support of Susumu Inamine, a former superintendent of Nago's board of education, who declared his candidacy for the election.

    Incumbent Mayor Yoshikazu Shimabukuro is running for reelection. However, fewer than half of municipal assembly members now support him.

    Shimabukuro, 63, has been a proponent of bringing the air station to the city. However, at an extraordinary assembly session held Wednesday, debate over a written statement to Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa regarding his remarks on the Futenma issue ended up dragging on until midnight.

    The mayor's position has been growing increasingly tenuous by the day.

    (Nov. 30, 2009)
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Daily Yomiuri Online :: Monday, November 30, 2009




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Sunday, November 29, 2009

U.S. Ambassador Roos set to visit Okinawa gov., survey bases

    Nov 29 07:12 AM US/Eastern

    TOKYO, Nov. 29 (AP) - (Kyodo) — U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos will visit Okinawa for three days from Monday on his first trip there as an envoy at a time when senior Japanese and U.S. officials continue to discuss the relocation of a U.S. base on the southern island.

    In a planned meeting with Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima, Roos is expected to exchange opinions with him about moving the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in central Okinawa to a new airfield to be built in a less populated part of the island farther north.

    The relocation was agreed to under a bilateral deal in 2006, but Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has revisited the issue, saying that base- hosting burdens on the people of Okinawa must be eased. The issue is now a major sticking point threatening to sour the bilateral alliance.

    During the meeting, Nakaima is expected to raise the issue of reviewing the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement -- which governs the operations of the U.S. military in Japan -- possibly to add an environment preservation clause to it.

    Roos, who assumed the ambassadorship in August, plans to lay flowers at the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman on the island's southern tip, the site of one of the fiercest battlegrounds in the closing stages of World War II.

    The envoy is also planned to survey U.S. military installations on Okinawa and meet with Marine Lt. Gen. Terry Robling, the top commander of the U.S. forces on the island.

    Under the 2006 agreement, the Futemma facility in a crowded residential area of Ginowan will be moved to a new airfield to be built at the Marines' Camp Schwab in Nago by 2014, and as a package deal, 8,000 Marines will be moved from Okinawa to the U.S. territory of Guam.

    But Hatoyama, who took office in September after his Democratic Party of Japan swept to power in an election, has suggested moving the base out of Okinawa or out of the country altogether.

    With Washington urging Tokyo to stick to the existing deal, the two countries have launched a working group to study the matter and agreed to reach a conclusion on it "expeditiously." Roos takes part in the discussions as a group member.

    While calls are growing in Okinawa to relocate the Futemma base outside the prefecture, Gov. Nakaima has so far maintained his conditional support for the Nago relocation plan.
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Okada to revisit Okinawa on Futenma issue

    2009/11/29 02:57(JST)
    (JST: UTC+9hrs.)

    The Japanese Foreign Minister is planning to revisit Okinawa Prefecture this weekend as part of his efforts to seek an early solution to the relocation problem of the US Futenma Air Station in the prefecture.

    Katsuya Okada's plan comes a few weeks after he made a two-day trip to the southern prefecture in mid-November.

    During the trip Okada visited a planned relocation site on the coast at US Camp Schwab, which is also in Okinawa. He also met with Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima and other municipal leaders.

    During the coming visit, the Foreign Minister is hoping to discuss the issue with local people to hear first-hand opinions.

    Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama met with Nakaima in Tokyo on Friday. The Okinawa Governor is believed to have asked Hatoyama for an early settlement of the relocation problem.

    Hatoyama is seeking options acceptable to the United States that would also reduce the burden on the communities of Okinawa which host the US military facilities.

    Hatoyama will meet Okinawa Governor again on Monday.

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Ex-diplomat to testify on secret Japan-U.S. pact on Okinawa reversion

    Nov 28 09:20 PM US/Eastern

    TOKYO, Nov. 29 (AP) - (Kyodo) — A former senior Foreign Ministry official will appear as a witness in a Tokyo District Court trial on Tuesday over the disclosure of state documents that plaintiffs argue indicate the existence of a secret Japan-U.S. pact involving cost burdens for the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japan.

    While the Japanese government led by the Liberal Democratic Party consistently denied the existence of the secret pact, 91-year-old Bunroku Yoshino, the ministry's former American Bureau chief who was one of Japan's negotiators for the reversion, has admitted in interviews with the media that such an agreement exists.

    The documents in question include one that is supposed to indicate that Japan secretly shouldered $4 million in costs on behalf of the United States to restore farmland plots in Okinawa on land used by the U.S. military.

    Yoshino is appearing in court at a summons issued last month by presiding Judge Norihiko Sugihara. The summons had to be approved by the Foreign Ministry based on a provision of the code of civil procedure pertaining to questions to a witness involving secrets handled as part of diplomatic work.

    His testimony is expected to give impetus to moves to disclose other secret pacts, such as one involving Japan turning a blind eye to stopovers by nuclear-armed U.S. vessels -- an agreement that goes against its three nonnuclear principles of not possessing, developing or permitting the entry of nuclear weapons.

    Those pacts are now under investigation by a Foreign Ministry team after the Democratic Party of Japan won power from the Liberal Democratic Party in the general election in August and formed a new government in September.

    One of the trial's plaintiffs is 78-year-old Takichi Nishiyama, a former Mainichi Shimbun reporter who was convicted in the 1970s for urging a woman working for the Foreign Ministry to hand over classified documents about the negotiation process behind the reversion of Okinawa.

    In the earlier trial involving Nishiyama, Yoshino, as a witness for the prosecution, denied the existence of the secret documents. He also made similar denials in parliament.

    But in the trial Tuesday, Yoshino will testify as the plaintiffs' witness, standing by Nishiyama nearly four decades after testifying against his claims.

    Yoshino apparently changed his position after the declassification in the United States between 2000 and 2002 of official documents including secret pacts with Japan regarding the Okinawa reversion.

    In April 2005, Nishiyama filed a damages suit with the Tokyo District Court, claiming his career as a reporter was ruined by the conviction. The suit was subsequently rejected by the Supreme Court in September 2008 without referring to whether or not the pact existed.

    Yoshino, meanwhile, began featuring in media reports in 2006 -- while Nishiyama was still pursuing the damages suit -- admitting to the existence of a secret pact, and that the "B.Y." initials on related documents were his.

    A total of 25 plaintiffs, including Nishiyama, again brought the issue to court in March, demanding that the government disclose those documents concerning the alleged bilateral pacts based on the people's right to know.

    "The significance of the latest trial is to show that we will continue to pursue the issue," Nishiyama said during a recent interview with Kyodo News.

    "Mr. Yoshino will appear as a sworn witness in court. It's different from appearing in the media as he could face a perjury charge," Nishiyama said, adding his testimony carries "very important meaning as it will be tantamount to an assertion that the government has lied about the secret pact."

    In a separate interview, Yoshino said he now wants to reveal the truth because the United States disclosed the official documents regarding the secret pacts, and there have been several publications on the issue released in Japan.

    "There is no doubt that I signed those official documents and they are authentic documents. All the records are there so I believe nothing should be hidden any longer," he added.

    Asked why he previously denied the existence of the pacts, Yoshino said it was because of "the Foreign Ministry's ironclad rule that diplomats should not speak of the contents of diplomatic negotiations."

    Nishiyama's report about the secret pact over the Okinawa reversion appeared in the Mainichi Shimbun on June 18, 1971.

    Yoshino said that had he admitted the existence of the secret pact before Okinawa was finally returned to Japanese sovereignty from the United States on May 15, 1972, the reversion "would have undoubtedly been broken off."
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Mainichi :: Sunday, November 29, 2009

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READERS IN COUNCIL :: Futenma has environmental issue

    Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009
    By KINUYE OSHIRO-AVERY
    Yomitan, Okinawa

    Regarding the Nov. 26 article "Budget may cover part of Futenma accord": I am tired of the United States demanding that Japan stick to a 2006 agreement made between two governments that are no longer in power.

    In a lawsuit, Judge Patel of the U.S. Federal Court in San Francisco found the U.S. military in violation of the National Preservation Act for endangered species, and ordered the Defense Department to resolve the issue before continuing to build an alternate base for U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station on Okinawa. The ruling is Dugong v. Gates, No. 03-4360. We have a documentary now available on YouTube in four parts titled "Why Okinawa? The Dilemma of Futenma." The link to part one (English with Japanese subtitles) is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXoTsXdefOg

    The U.S. military is arguing a point from 2006 when a ruling from 2008 has essentially made the 2006 agreement moot. The U.S. military needs to follow its own government's ruling before pushing its self-serving desires on the Japanese government, which affect the lives of all Okinawans, of which I am one.

    The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
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Japan Times :: Sunday, November 29, 2009

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Asahi :: Sunday, November 29, 2009




  • Asahi is not published on Sunday
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Govt Revitalization Unit 'falls short'/ Cost-cutting panel got attention, but lacked on attacking record budget requests



    Motoki Matsubara and Koichiro Ashikaga     / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

    The just-concluded first attempt by a central government to make public its budget screening process attracted substantial attention, but experts pointed out it was less effective than expected in fulfilling its mission of sufficiently cutting back the record-high scale of budget requests.

    On Friday, the final day of the Government Revitalization Unit's sessions to identify wasteful spending in fiscal 2010 budget requests, Tokyo University President Junichi Hamada spoke to Government Revitalization Minister Yoshito Sengoku with scathing sarcasm when the minister visited the university's headquarters in Hongo, Tokyo, on Friday evening.

    "Well, I may not like the words, 'the first round [of screening],'" Hamada reportedly told Sengoku. "And I'm afraid it seems like the government is merely trying to attract public attention."

    Hamada was responding to Sengoku, who had handed the Tokyo University president a booklet compiling the results of the budget screening sessions' first five days, saying, "Inside the booklet are the results of our first round of screenings."

    After the unit decided to cut back requested budgets for science and technology-related projects, Hamada and the presidents of eight other universities released a joint statement criticizing the screening process.

    The unit, mainly comprising people from the private sector, assessed the necessity of 449 projects, selected beforehand from about 3,000 central government projects, and the legitimacy of the budgets requested for them. They spent about an hour discussing each item, and many projects were abolished or had their requested budgets cut. Many lawmakers and experts criticized the method, claiming that unit members spent too little time making decisions on each project and questioning whether people from the private sector were qualified to cut the national budget.

    "The government has a particular responsibility regarding [projects] that cannot be cut because of their lack of profits."

    The unprecedented scheme to make public the government's budget screening process, which was carried live via the Internet, also received generous daily media coverage. As the number of gallery spectators increased each day, the unit had to limit visitors on the last two days. About 20,000 people visited the site over the nine days of the unit's sessions, pleasing people who conducted the exercise.

    "It's like a theme park," one of the unit's officials said.

    Many experts admit that the scheme, as Sengoku put it, could be a "revolution in the political culture" in terms of enhancing voter interest in the government's budget drafting process.

    "To be honest, I envy them [members of the unit]. When we did the same thing, we were considered rebels, but they're doing it as regular forces [with government backing]," said Taro Kono, a House of Representatives member and chief of the major opposition Liberal Democratic Party's project team to identify wasteful spending, who visited the screening site Friday. "We [in the LDP] couldn't attract so many media organizations."

    Though LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki called the unit sessions a "ceremony to victimize bureaucrats," in Fukuoka, another opposition lawmaker said, "I'm loathe to admit it, but it's a great success as a political show."

    "If we'd failed to attract this much public attention, people [instead] might have focused on Prime Minister [Yukio] Hatoyama's [suspected] scandal over his political funds, pushing down the Cabinet's approval ratings," a government official said.

    On Friday night, Sengoku mentioned his intention to conduct similar screenings for the fiscal 2011 budget.

    "If possible, I want to do it before each ministry and agency submits its budget requests and around the Golden Week holiday period [in May]," he told reporters Friday night in the National Printing Bureau's gym for employees in Ichigaya, Tokyo, where the unit sessions were held.

    However, the result was far from the unit's initial target of cutting 3 trillion yen from the record 95 trillion yen in budget requests, and the unit postponed efforts to balance the budget for fiscal 2010.

    Some experts also noted it was the Finance Ministry that led the screening process. The ministry had drawn up a list of projects for which it decided budgets could easily be reduced now that the government had changed and submitted it to the unit in mid-October.

    "It's a great opportunity to cut back on budgets that we couldn't under the LDP-led administration due to our longtime ties to the party," a Finance Ministry official had said.

    The ministry ranked the listed projects in order of the perceived ease in cutting their requested budgets, which made it possible for unit members to immediately decide which projects should be abolished or postponed.

    However, some ministry officials failed to realize their hopes of cutting more than 5 trillion yen.

    In spring, the then opposition Democratic Party of Japan conducted a screening of part of the fiscal 2009 budget compiled by the then LDP administration This screening convinced the now ruling DPJ it could cut about 7 trillion yen in spending from the fiscal 2010 budget. In light of this, observers point out that the result of the latest screening was a reminder to the DPJ of the difficulty involved in managing a central government.

    The government plans to further cut back the requested budgets by referring the screening results to similar projects that were not chosen as screening targets, but observers say it will not be an easy task.

    (Nov. 29, 2009)
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PM discusses Futenma with Okinawa govenor



    The Yomiuri Shimbun

    Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima met Friday morning at the prime minister's official residence to discuss the issue of relocating Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, it was learned Saturday.

    Nakaima reportedly explained the situation in the prefecture to the prime minister concerning the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps base and called for the issue to be reached as early as possible. The prime minister did not indicate the likely timing of a decision or the site for the relocation, according to sources.

    However, with the prime minister moving to find common ground on the issue, it appears he is edging toward reaching a conclusion by the end of December.

    It was the first time Hatoyama had met the governor one-on-one since becoming prime minister. The meeting was made at the prime minister's request and lasted about an hour, according to the sources.

    The sources added that Hatoyama asked Nakaima about the situation in Okinawa Prefecture concerning the Futenma issue. Nakaima replied that after the change of administration, the expectations of people in Okinawa that the air station may be relocated outside the prefecture or overseas had grown greatly.

    The governor then asked the prime minister to do more to ease the heavy burden Okinawa Prefecture shoulders as host of U.S. forces' facilities by removing the danger of the Futenma Air Station as early as possible.

    The prime minister reportedly expressed sympathy regarding the need to lighten this burden, but did not clearly mention the place the base might be relocated to or a likely conclusion date, according to the sources.
    (Nov. 29, 2009)
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Daily Yomiuri Online :: Sunday, November 29, 2009




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Saturday, November 28, 2009

Panel begins studying Japan-US secret pacts

    2009/11/28 17:10(JST)
    (JST: UTC+9hrs.)

    A government panel is trying to prove the existence of secret nuclear deals between Japan and the United States.

    Experts on foreign affairs and security attended the panel's first meeting on Friday to study documents found by a Foreign Ministry project team. The documents are said to suggest the existence of 4 secret pacts.

    One is believed to have been concluded by Japanese Foreign Minister Aiichiro Fujiyama and US ambassador to Japan Douglas MacArthur in 1960 to allow US nuclear ships to enter Japanese ports.

    In the same year, Japan and the US revised a bilateral security treaty.

    Another pact was allegedly signed by Japanese Prime Minister Eisaku Sato and US President Richard Nixon in 1972 when the southern island of Okinawa reverted to Japanese rule. The deal was allegedly reached to allow the US to bring nuclear weapons to the Okinawan islands in emergencies.

    Any such pacts would violate a Japanese policy that prohibits nuclear weapons from being made, possessed or stored within Japanese territory.

    In a 2-month investigation, the Foreign Ministry team has found documents suggesting the existence of the secret pacts. But documents relating to the pacts themselves have not yet been found, including those that Sato and Nixon allegedly signed in private.

    The panel plans to look into whether such secret deals actually existed by comparing the documents filed at the foreign ministry and US public archives as well as by interviewing people concerned.

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Prime Minister Meets Okinawa Governor

    首相、沖縄知事と会談「普天間、様子聞きたい」

    　沖縄の米軍普天間飛行場移設問題で、鳩山首相が２７日朝、首相公邸で仲井真弘多(ひろかず)・沖縄県知事と会談していたことがわかった。

    　複数の関係者が２８日、明らかにした。仲井真知事は、移設問題をめぐる県内の情勢を説明するとともに、可能な限り早期に決着するよう首相に求めた。首相は、移設をめぐる決断の時期や場所などについて明確な考えを示さなかったとされるが、首相自らが着地点を探るために動き出したことで、移設問題は、年内決着を焦点に最終局面の調整に入りそうだ。

    　鳩山政権発足後、首相が仲井真知事と個別に会談したのは初めて。会談は、首相が呼びかけたもので、約１時間行われた。

    　関係者によると、会談では、首相が「普天間問題について、沖縄県内の様子を聞きたい」と求めた。これを受け、仲井真知事が「政権交代後、沖縄では、県外や国外への移設に対する期待が非常に高まっている」と説明した。

    　知事はそのうえで、普天間飛行場の一日も早い危険性の除去など、沖縄の過重な基地負担を軽減するための対策を強化する必要があると訴えた。これに対し、首相は、基地負担の軽減策の必要性には理解を示した。ただ、移設先や結論を出す時期については明言を避けたという。

    　首相と知事は３０日午前に首相官邸で公式に会談する予定だ。首相はその前に、知事の意向と県内情勢を直接把握するために会談を求めたとみられる。

    　普天間移設をめぐっては、日米両政府が２００６年に合意した同県名護市の米軍キャンプ・シュワブ沿岸部への移設計画を、仲井真知事が容認する姿勢をとってきた。しかし、米軍再編について「見直しの方向で臨む」方針を掲げる鳩山政権が９月に発足後、県内では、「県外」「国外」移設を求める世論が急速に高まっている。

    　来年１月には移設先の名護市で市長選が行われるため、岡田外相と北沢防衛相は、年内の決着が望ましいとの考えを示しているが、首相は決断のめどを明らかにしておらず、事態は「ひとえに首相の判断ひとつ」（外相）となっている。

    （2009年11月28日14時34分 読売新聞

    Click for original Yomiuri article.

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Okinawa LDP and Futenma

    普天間移設　結論先送りなら「県外」　自民県連、早期の政府方針要求
    2009年11月28日

    自民党県連は２７日、県議会内で議員総会を開き、米軍普天間飛行場移設問題をめぐり、年内に政府方針が示されない場合、県内移設を容認してきた立場を転換し、県外移設要求に踏み込む方針を全会一致で決めた。議員総会後の記者会見で、翁長政俊幹事長は「（民主党は）選挙公約を含めて県外と言ってきた。３党合意の線に沿って、一日も早い普天間の危険性除去が実現できるように方針を決定することが政府の責任だ」と述べた。
    　一方、１１月定例会での県外移設要求決議について「発表の範囲で対応する。（年内中の決議は）厳しい」との見解を示した。
    　年内に政府が現行案で決着を図ろうとする場合の対応については、「３党合意に沿った判断が出てくると予測をしているから、予断を持って話したくない」と明言は避けた。年内は政府の決定を待つ理由について、日米閣僚級の作業グループで検証作業が行われていることを挙げた。

    ◆首相、影響を否定
    　【東京】鳩山由紀夫首相は２７日、自民党県連の方針決定に関し「新しい自民党の考えの下で判断を変えるとかということではなく、今検証している最中なので、その下で判断し結論を出したい」と述べ、首相自身の判断に影響するものではないとの考えを示した。

    ◆県内野党「自民方針あいまい」
    　自民党県連の普天間移設問題をめぐる方針見直しについて、県議会野党会派には１１月定例会で辺野古移設反対決議が全会一致で可決できるという期待が高まっていただけに、県外移設への方針転換が来年に先延ばしとなったことに失望感が広がった。
    　社民・護憲は「方針はあいまいで残念。多くの人が結集した決議を意思表示できないか、残された会期で努力する」と強調した。
    　共産は「辺野古に基地を造らせないという県民大会の到達点に自民も加わるべきだ。政争の具ではいけない」と指摘した。
    　県政与党の公明県民会議は「基地負担軽減は県民の願いだ。新政権は真剣に腹をくくり対米交渉に臨んでもらいたい」と述べた。
    　社大・結は「県民の願いは基地の県内移設反対だ。今、われわれがすべきことはオール沖縄で声を政府に示すことだ」と話した。
    　改革の会は「年内に決めないのなら県外という考え方は違う。今までのスタンスを反省し、総括すべきでないのか」とした。
    　民主は「県議会で全会一致の決議ができれば市町村にも広がる。沖縄の意志がまとまれば政府の判断に影響する」と指摘した。

    Click for original article in Ryukyu Shimpo.
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Social Democratic Party and Futenma Discussion

    社民と国民新　「普天間」３党協議を要求2009年11月28日

    東京】社民党の福島瑞穂党首と国民新党の亀井静香代表は２７日、国会内で会談し、米軍普天間飛行場移設で、基本政策閣僚委員会の下に民主・社民・国民新の連立与党３党の政策担当者らでつくる作業部会を設置するよう民主党に申し入れることで合意した。平野博文官房長官は、同日夕の会見で「閣僚委員会の中で（まだ）話し合いをしていないので、その中でやるべきだ」と述べ、新たな機関設置に慎重な姿勢を示した。

    　亀井代表は、会談後の会見で「民主党だけで決められる話ではない。党の政策責任者が具体的な形で協議することなしに政府が米側と交渉しても決着する話ではない」と述べ、３党協議の上で日米交渉すべきだと指摘。「１、２カ月で決着できる話ではない」と述べ、年内の結論に疑義を呈した。福島党首は「県民の負担軽減が実現できるよう協議したい」と３党協議の意義を語った。

    　会談は社民側から申し入れた。同党の照屋寛徳氏と国民新の下地幹郎氏も同席した。福島氏は従来、閣僚委下の作業部会設置を求めていた。当初は、普天間の名護市辺野古への移設に反対の立場での合意に向け協議の予定だったが、亀井氏が党として方針決定していないとして、共通認識となる作業部会設置で合意した。

    　辺野古への移設について亀井代表は「辺野古や嘉手納（統合）やグアムなどいろんな考え方があるが、今の段階でこれはどうだというのではなく、全体で判断していく。県外、国外を基本だと考えている」と述べるにとどめた。

    Click for original article in the Ryukyu Shimpo.
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Gov't cost-cutting panel trims 1.95 billion yen of fat

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Japanese flock to first-ever open budget debate

    November 28, 2009

    TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese flocked to a large gymnasium in central Tokyo in recent weeks to see what for them was an unusual sight: senior bureaucrats being grilled over their budget requests for next year.

    "Why is it just the Defense Ministry that is asking for a staff increase?" asked a particularly combative lawmaker, Renho, who goes by only one name. Later she demanded, "Could you give me a more compelling explanation please?"

    In a major break with the past, new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has introduced a public review of the budget. His party, which ousted the long-ruling conservatives in August, has promised to cut wasteful spending and make policymaking more transparent.

    Hatoyama also wants to rein in Japan's powerful bureaucrats, who exerted tremendous influence over policy under the conservatives, and empower the elected parliament.

    TV footage showed Defense Ministry official Toru Horichi looking exhausted and deflated after the review panel, which is making recommendations to the prime minister, rejected a proposal to increase military hiring.

    "I failed to convince them," he said. "I could not convey what I meant to explain, even though I see hardworking and struggling soldiers every day. I feel so sorry for them."

    The proceedings, which wrapped up Friday, are an experiment with a more open -- and some would say sloppy -- form of democracy. Some have criticized them as too hasty or a publicity stunt, though surveys show widespread public support.

    The review has gotten plenty of air time on television and seems to be reviving public interest in politics, which many Japanese have come to see as largely irrelevant to their lives.

    "This kind of thing is fundamental to democracy. Before, things were too secretive," said Yoshitomo Yokoyama, a 77-year-old retiree who came to watch. "This is definitely a positive change."

    Earlier this month, the live webcast of the proceedings was temporarily clogged because so many people wanted to watch it, and organizers had to restrict entry on Thursday and Friday when too many spectators showed up.

    With government debt swollen by years of public works and other spending, the need to cut the budget is real. Hatoyama wants to slash at least 3 trillion yen ($34 billion) from 95 trillion yen ($1.1 trillion) in budget requests for the fiscal year starting in April.

    The most widely heard criticism is that the review process has been too fast and pushy.

    The screening panel of lawmakers and experts, divided into three groups separated by makeshift walls in the gym, has flown through 450 projects in nine days -- sometimes scheduling just 25 minutes for a budget item.

    The panel has recommended scores of cuts in areas such as overseas development aid, libraries and Japan's space program. Delegates to next year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Yokohoma might find themselves in humbler lodging than in the past after the panel said spending needed to be slashed 20 percent.

    Final spending decisions will be made later by the Hatoyama government.

    Proposed cuts in scientific research funding, including for supercomputer development, triggered an outcry from a string of Japanese Nobel Prize-winning scientists, who held a series of press conferences blasting the panel as misguided and shortsighted.

    "Open debate over public projects is fine, but promotion of science and technology and development of human resources is not about cost. It's an investment for the future," said Ryoji Noyori, director of the government-backed Riken institute, who shared the Nobel chemistry prize in 2001 with two Americans.

    Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa also wasn't happy. He said Friday it was inappropriate that most members of the review team were not national security experts.

    "The screening merely focused on cost reduction, which I thought was totally missing the point," he said.

    But Mizuho Fukushima, minister of gender equality and consumer affairs, said she hoped the screening would become an annual event to further promote transparency in government.

    A survey conducted Nov. 21-22 by the Mainichi newspaper showed more than 70 percent of respondents supported the budget review. The paper polled 1,066 eligible voters. It didn't give a margin of error, but a poll of that size usually has a margin of error of around 5 percentage points.

    Taxi driver Koji Iwano said the public review will bring some fiscal discipline to Japan.

    "It's clear that the spending until now was irresponsible," said Iwano, a 43-year-old from Saitama, north of Tokyo. "If Japan were as careful as many mothers are about watching their family's budgets, we'd be better off."

    (Mainichi Japan) November 28, 2009

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