Friday, March 29, 2002THE OKINAWA FACTOR
As U.S. security alliance strengthens, locals turn from military issues to boosting business
2002 marks the 30th anniversary of Okinawa's reversion to Japan from the U.S. As the two nations boost their security alliance, Okinawa's strategic importance appears to be increasing, but it continues to suffer political, social and economic problems. This is the first article in an occasional series on Okinawa issues. By TOSHI MAEDA Staff writer Three decades after its reversion to Japan, Okinawa is still dominated by U.S. bases, suffering economic disparities and seeking ways to vent its frustration.
Okinawa has trailed the other prefectures economically.
Unemployment, which stood at 8.4 percent in 2001, is the highest among all 47 prefectures, while its wage level is the nation's lowest.
Although the key U.S. military installations are one of the island's major employers and revenue sources, residents near them often complain of noise and air pollution from aircraft, while forest fires and the drift of red clay caused by live-fire drills also draw complaints.
Okinawa, a bloody battle ground in the final months of World War II, was returned to Japan on May 15, 1972. The island prefecture, which accounts for only 0.7 percent of Japan's total area, still provides some 75 percent of the land being used exclusively by the U.S. military stationed in Japan.
A deterrence to China
During the Cold War, the U.S. dubbed Okinawa the "keystone of the Pacific" in deterring possible Soviet or North Korean aggression in Northeast Asia.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, however, bases in Okinawa are serving as a deterrent to China and possible conflicts in the Taiwan Strait, and to North Korea.
"Okinawa's advantage is that it is located 'not too close' and 'not too far' from potential war zones. In other words, you can project power while keeping an appropriate distance," said Toshiyuki Shikata, professor of Teikyo University and former commanding general of the Ground Self-Defense Force's Northern Area Army.
Okinawa lies about 800 km from the Taiwan Strait, 1,400 km from Pyongyang and 2,000 km from the Russian Far East.
"Some people argue Okinawa's role has ended now that the Cold War is over," Shikata said.
"But with the U.S. having shifted its focus from the north (the former Soviet Union) to the west (China and terrorist networks), the significance of Okinawa in a strategic sense is increasing even more."
In the post-Cold War world, the U.S. and Japan have sought to beef up their security alliance by pursuing an "equal partnership."
The Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines, enacted in 1999, opened the way for the Self-Defense Forces to provide logistic and other noncombatant support for the U.S. military should hostilities erupt near Japan -- most likely in the Taiwan Strait or on the Korean Peninsula.
Richard Armitage, U.S. deputy secretary of state and an influential policymaker on Japan, noted in an October 2000 report that he "sees the special relationship between the U.S. and Great Britain as a model for the (U.S.-Japan) alliance."
The U.S. Quadrennial Defense Review released in September by the Pentagon highlighted the uncertainty of Asia's security environment.
"Maintaining a stable balance in Asia will be a complex task. The possibility exists that a military competitor with a formidable resource base will emerge in the region," the report said, obviously referring to China.
Another report compiled by the QDR 2001 Working Group set up at the U.S. National Defense University provides a clear explanation about Okinawa's strategic role.
"The air base at Kadena (in central Okinawa) is vital to U.S. security because it is the only U.S. air base within tactical fighter range of Taiwan," it said. "Without access to Kadena, the United States would be forced to rely primarily on carrier-based aviation to support defense of Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack."
Okinawa, Shikata notes, is the "adhesive of the Japan-U.S. relationship."
Relocation efforts
Following the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three U.S. servicemen, local resentment against the U.S. bases reached a peak.
In 1996, Tokyo and Washington agreed to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station from its central residential location in Ginowan on condition that Tokyo provide the marines with an alternative airport on the island.
Although Tokyo is pushing to build the alternative airport on a reef off the town of Nago, in the north of Okinawa island, the outlook remains uncertain as local governments insist that the U.S. military's use of the new airport be limited to 15 years -- a condition Washington is reluctant to accept.
Local media and scholars say the U.S. should reduce the number of marines in Okinawa, which accounts for more than 60 percent of the roughly 25,000 U.S service members stationed in the prefecture.
"The marines are here mostly for exercises only. I don't see the reason why they must be here if they can do the same exercises in the U.S.," said Seigen Miyazato, a political analyst in Okinawa.
Indeed, reduction in the number of Okinawa-deployed marines seems to be among the Pentagon's future options.
"The inherent mobility of the marines means there is no absolute requirement for them to be in Japan, particularly if they were no longer needed for a Korean contingency," said the QDR 2001 Working Group report.
"If a reduction in the U.S. military presence in Japan were necessary, the Marine Corps facilities in Okinawa and the Air Force base at Yokota (west of Tokyo) probably are the least vital of major American installations in the country and therefore the most likely candidates for reduction."
Fishing rods, not fish
Amid the island's bleak economic outlook and speculation that an immediate withdrawal or cutback in U.S. forces is unlikely, Okinawan voters in recent years have chosen leaders more conscious of the economy than anti-U.S. base sentiment.
In a 1998 election, then Okinawa Gov. Masahide Ota, a hardline opponent to the U.S. presence, lost his seat to local tycoon Keiichi Inamine. In Nago, Tateo Kishimoto, who declared his intention to accept an alternative to Futenma, won the mayoral race twice running in 1998 and 2002.
Under Inamine's "We need fishing rods, not fish" slogan, Okinawa has sought ways to stop relying on subsidies from the central government and stand on its own feet.
"When Okinawa reverted to Japan, it was in a miserable plight. Under (U.S.) rule, infrastructure had not been built," said Munetaka Takeda, chief of Okinawa Development Bureau at the Cabinet Office.
"Over the last three decades, our focus has been on bridging the infrastructure gap with the rest of Japan," he said.
"And now, the focus has shifted to improving its economic performance. Okinawa needs to invite firms with advanced technologies so they can attract more firms and industries in a ripple effect."
The subtropical prefecture, where tourism has served as the leading industry, came up with a new concept in 1998 to turn itself into a "multimedia island," hoping to serve as an Asia-Pacific information and technology hub.
To help realize the project, the Diet is expected to enact a new law today to allow Okinawa to launch tax havens for IT-related and financial firms -- the first such attempt in country.
The law also calls for setting up a technology graduate school in Okinawa and continuing a reduction to the fuel tax on flights between Okinawa and the main islands.
"We are satisfied as we have got what we wanted. This is pretty much like the 'one nation, two systems' policy that we were asking for," said Kazutoshi Oshiro, head of the industrial development task force at the municipal office of Nago, where the tax havens will be most likely introduced.
Some observers point out that the tax havens are the major component of the carrot-and-stick deal between Tokyo and Nago in an attempt to promote the construction of the joint civilian-military airport off Nago.
Events related to Okinawa bases
February 1995 -- Joseph Nye, a former U.S. assistant secretary of defense, declares the U.S. will keep 100,000 troops in Northeast Asia indefinitely, subject to review in 2015. This angers Gov. Masahide Ota.
September 1995 -- A 12-year-old local girl is raped by three U.S. servicemen. The incident spurs widespread public anger toward the U.S. presence.
April 1996 -- Japan and the U.S. agree to relocate Futenma Air Station on condition that Tokyo provide an alternate facility for the marines in the prefecture.
September 1996 -- In a prefectural plebiscite, 89 percent of those who voted -- 53 percent of eligible voters -- call for a reduction of U.S. bases in Okinawa.
December 1997 -- In a local plebiscite, 53 percent of the residents of Nago object to the town's plan to accept a Futenma alternate airport.
February 1998 -- Futenma relocation proponent Tateo Kishimoto elected mayor of Nago.
November 1998 -- Local business leader Keiichi Inamine elected governor of Okinawa.
July 2000 -- Group of Eight summit held in Nago.
February 2001 -- Private e-mail from Lt. Gen. Earl Hailston, then top commander of U.S. forces in Okinawa, to other U.S. officers is leaked. He referred to prefectural officials, including Inamine, as "all nuts and a bunch of wimps," venting frustration over the local response to an indecent act committed by a marine that month.
June 2001 -- A local woman in her 20s is raped by a U.S. Air Force staff sergeant.
December 2001 -- Tokyo and Nago agree to build an airport on a reef off Nago for marine helicopter operations.
February 2002 -- Nago Mayor Kishimoto re-elected.
| How Okinawa fits in | ||
| Okinawa | Entire nation | |
| Annual income per capita | 2.17 million yen (1999) (71.9% of natinal average) | 3.02 million yen (1999) |
| Unemployment rate | 8.4% (2001) | 4.85% (2001) |
| Real ecconomic growth | 1.2% (1999) | 1.4% (1999) |
| Area used exclusively by U.S. military (As of March 2001) | 23,445 hectares (74.8% of national total) | 31,349 hectares |
| Population (As of Jan. 2002) | 1.33 million (1.05% of national total) | 127.28 million |
| Total area | 2,272 sq.km ( 0.67% of national total) | 337,880 sq.km |
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