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By David Pilling
Published: Jan 24, 2006
A US ambassador to Japan once referred to Okinawa, the tropical island chain in Japan's extreme south, as a bone stuck in the throat of the bilateral relationship. Yesterday, after a mayoral election victory that was supposedly favourable to Washington's strategic ambitions, that bone was still firmly lodged.
At stake in Nago City's election, contested on Sunday, was whether to allow the construction of a US Marine Corps facility. Relocation of the Marines' Futenma base in the south of the island to the more northerly Nago has become the sticking point in a much broader reshuffling of US troops in Japan, part of Washington's push to develop a more nimble global force, better suited to modern security threats.
Yoshikazu Shimabukuro, Nago's winning candidate, was heavily backed by Tokyo's ruling Liberal Democratic party, which last October signed a deal with Washington agreeing to the new base. Both the US and Japan expect Mr Shimabukuro to help persuade local residents to accept the new facility, at least part of which will be built on the sea and some of which is planned to be built inside Camp Schwab.
But if the newly elected mayor is supposed to smooth things over, he certainly was not showing it yesterday. In his election victory speech, Mr Shimabukuro branded the present proposal as unacceptable, saying he would only discuss it if substantial changes were made.
The call for further alterations to a plan that has been haggled over for a decade is merely the latest friction over Okinawa, which was occupied by the US after the second world war and returned to Japan only in 1972. Senior US officials, including Richard Lawless, deputy undersecretary of defence, have complained bitterly that Tokyo has allowed local politics to jeopardise Washington's security interests in Asia.
Masahide Ota, the former governor of Okinawa who has campaigned for the complete withdrawal of US bases, has a different viewpoint. From where he sits, Tokyo and Washington have colluded to ensure that Okinawa, where three-quarters of Japanese bases are located, bears the brunt of the US military burden.
"The Americans occupied Okinawa during the war and they feel Okinawa is their own territory," he says. "They still believe it is theirs to use as freely as they wish."
The Okinawan people's attitude to the bases is not easy to interpret, as the Nago election illustrates. So ostensibly opposed are Nago's citizens to hosting the base that all three candidates felt they had little choice but to campaign vigorously against it.
All said a marines facility would be too noisy, prone to helicopter crashes and damaging to the pristine marine environment.
Yet voters strongly backed Mr Shimabukuro, a candidate who, with a nod and a wink, made it clear he would be much more flexible on the base issue than his hardline opponents.
Why would Nago city residents vote in this seemingly ambiguous way? Masaaki Gabe, professor of international relations at the university of the Ryukyus, the name of the island kingdom before it was annexed by Japan in 1879, says it all boils down to money.
According to Prof Gabe, electing Mr Shimabukuro guarantees a continuation of the Y10bn ($87m) in annual development money paid by Tokyo to lubricate a deal. In a prefecture where 18 per cent of workers are employed by the building trade, agreement to host the base would bring lucrative construction contracts.
"Most Okinawans don't accept these bases," says Prof Gabe. "They say it is discrimination that there are so many bases here, but so few in the rest of Japan. So what the politicians do is give money to shut the Okinawans up."
Mr Ota says the dependence on military-related funding is not helping the economy but holding it back. "The central government says that without the military bases, the Okinawan government would go bankrupt.
"But this is entirely wrong," he argues, pointing to what he says is booming business in land occupied by former bases returned to the prefecture. Without the bases, Okinawa would be better off, he contends.
Tokyo does not give money only to Okinawa. Yesterday, on a visit to Japan, Robert Zoellick, US deputy secretary of state, thanked Tokyo for renewing a contribution of $1.2bn (€990m, £678m) to help keep about 50,000 US troops in Japan. Those payments, which began in 1978 when the US economy was flagging, are still widely referred to in Japan as "the Sympathy Budget".
But from the perspective of many Okinawans - the reluctant facilitator of Japanese and American security objectives - it is they, not Washington, who deserve sympathy.
By David Pilling in Tokyo and
Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington, Financial Times
Published: Jan 19, 2006
The Pentagon and Japan's defence agency have agreed to accelerate discussions over relocating a US military base within Okinawa.
Last October, the US and Japan reached a deal under which Japan agreed to the reconfiguration of bases that will eventually lead to a reduction of 7,000 in the roughly 50,000 troops stationed in Japan.
That accord, reached after nearly a decade of wrangling, included the relocation of a Marines heliport from Futenma on Okinawa, the strategically important island in Japan's far south, where the bulk of the US military is located. The deal is part of a broader realignment of the US military globally, aimed at building a more flexible force better adapted to post-cold war security challenges.
During meetings with Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary, in Washington, Fukushiro Nukaga, director-general of Japan's defence agency, agreed on the need for a concrete relocation plan by March.
Mr Nukaga said he had urged further compromises towards reaching an agreement. He declined to say what compromises he sought.
Takao Toshikawa, a political analyst, said the topic under discussion was almost certainly the relocation of the Futenma airbase heliport function to Nago.
US and Japanese officials said Mr Nukaga had not sought major concessions. A Japanese diplomat said Mr Nukaga was simply calling for "flexibility" during negotiations.
A US defence official said both sides underscored the importance of preventing minor obstacles from derailing the process.
The October agreement ran into opposition on Okinawa, where politicians and activists have vowed to fight it on grounds of environmental damage and the perception that Okinawa already has enough bases.
The resistance of Okinawa, a culturally distinct island prefecture often at odds with mainland Japan, calls into question Tokyo's ability to implement the deal struck at national level with Washington. At least two of the three candidates in this Sunday's mayoral election in Nago City, the proposed site of the heliport, have vowed outright opposition to the facility.
The third candidate, endorsed by the ruling Liberal Democratic party, has hinted that he may accept the base on some conditions. These could form the basis of Mr Nukaga's proposals, analysts said.
Peter Rodman, assistant secretary of defence for international security affairs, said the Japanese government would have to deal with its own domestic political issues.
Yoshitami Oshiro, the candidate for Nago mayor who has taken the strongest opposing stance, said: "If I win, both the Japanese and the US governments will have to give up the base."
Many Okinawans also oppose US bases because of the danger of aircraft or helicopters crashing into built-up surrounding residential areas.
Yesterday, aides to Keiichi Inamine, governor of Okinawa, called for the suspension of air drills after an F-15 fighter jet crashed into the sea on Tuesday.
By David Pilling in Tokyo
Published: Jan 18, 2006
The director of Japan's defence agency on Wednesday urged the Pentagon to make compromises on the relocation of bases in Japan, a request that is likely to strain further the patience of Washington, which is already infuriated at the slow pace of negotiations.
The US considered final a deal struck last October, in which Japan agreed to the reconfiguration of bases that will eventually lead to a reduction of 7,000 in the roughly 50,000 troops stationed in Japan.
That accord, reached after nearly a decade of wrangling, included the controversial relocation of a Marines heliport on Okinawa, the strategically important island in Japan's far south where the bulk of the US military is located.
The deal is part of a broader realignment of the US military globally, aimed at building a nimbler force better adapted to post-cold war security challenges.
On Wednesday, after a meeting with Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary, in Washington, Fukushiro Nukaga, director-general of the Japan's defence agency, said he had urged further compromises with the aim of concluding an implementation agreement by March.
Kyodo news reported that, in a briefing after the meeting, Mr Nukaga refused to say what compromises he had requested.
Takao Toshikawa, a political analyst, said the topic under discussion was almost certainly the relocation of the Futenma airbase heliport function to Nago, where it will be partly constructed on the sea.
The October agreement immediately ran into opposition in Okinawa, where politicians and activists have vowed to fight it on grounds of environmental damage and the perception that Okinawa already has enough bases.
The resistance of Okinawa, a culturally distinct island prefecture often at odds with mainland Japan, calls into question Tokyo's ability to implement the deal struck at national level with Washington.
At least two of the three candidates running in this Sunday's mayoral election in Nago City, the proposed site of the heliport, have vowed outright opposition to hosting the new US facility. The third candidate, endorsed by the ruling Liberal Democratic party, has hinted that he may accept the base on some conditions. These could form the basis of Mr Nukaga's proposals, analysts said.
Yoshitami Oshiro, the candidate for Nago mayor who has taken the strongest stand against the proposed new heliport, said: "If I win, both the Japanese and the US governments will have to give up the base."
Mr Toshikawa said: "Even if the candidate endorsed by the LDP wins, I think it will be very difficult to persuade the people of Nago City to accept the [Japanese] government's plan."
Many Okinawans also oppose US bases because of the danger of aircraft or helicopters crashing into the often built-up surrounding residential areas. on Wednesday aides to Keiichi Inamine, governor of Okinawa, called for the suspension of air drills following the crash of an F-15 fighter jet into the sea on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 KYODO
Japan's Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga urged U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a meeting Tuesday to make some compromises in ongoing talks on realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Nukaga refused to specify what matters Japan wants the United States to compromise on, but said the two defense chiefs agreed to accelerate working-level talks to draft a unified implementation plan, possibly by the end of this month, in order to begin seeking local support before finalizing the plan by March.
Nukaga said he and Rumsfeld also agreed to discuss whether the two nations can issue a Nukaga-proposed ''political message,'' along with the final realignment accord in March, on the shape of the bilateral security alliance over the next 10-20 years after its transformation over the past 10 years into a global one.
On Japan's deployment of ground troops in Iraq, which has been extended for a year until Dec. 14, Nukaga indicated that Japan will decide when to withdraw them or whether to assign a new non-security mission there in line with what Britain and Australia do with the troops they have in charge of security operations in the Samawah area where the Japanese troops are carrying out rehabilitation work.
Nukaga, who arrived in Washington on Sunday, also met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, who also underlined their commitments to realizing the realignment, Japanese officials said.
His visit came after the two nations held a senior working-level meeting last week in Washington and discussed draft detailed plans tabled by the United States for implementing a realignment agreement reached last October.
The October accord, which Tokyo regards as interim and which Washington sees as final, calls for crafting an implementation plan by March. It highlighted the removal of 7,000 U.S. Marine Corps troops in Okinawa, including 6,000 to Guam, and an alternative plan for relocating the Marines' Futemma Air Station within the prefecture.
But Okinawa and other affected local communities remain strongly opposed to the accord and have vowed to fight it.
Nukaga said he told Rumsfeld that a ''certain U.S. compromise is needed along with Japan's efforts'' in order to achieve a successful realignment, while stressing the importance of minimizing burdens on base-hosting local communities to win their support.
Rumsfeld called for prompt Japanese action to realize the U.S. military reconfiguration, emphasizing that ''speed and timing'' are the most important factors, according to Nukaga and Japanese officials.
On his proposal for a ''political message,'' Nukaga said it should reflect the realignment accord and the developments in the security alliance since the two nations issued a joint security declaration 10 years ago and underlined their alliance in the Asia-Pacific region.
Nukaga noted Japan's legislative actions to implement the bilateral defense guidelines that were based on the security declaration as well as various other measures hammered out to enable more global contributions such the dispatch of Japan's Self-Defense Forces to Iraq.
But on the SDF's mission in Iraq, Nukaga ruled out the possibility of the Japanese troops engaging in security operations, saying he emphasized to Rumsfeld that Japan's current law does not allow such a duty.
Referring to Britain's plan to reduce its troops in Iraq if security operations can be transferred to Iraqi forces, Nukaga said, ''We must consider the SDF's assistance based on such a development.''
In the October accord, the two nations upgraded their security relations to a global alliance and agreed to further integrate and share operations between the U.S. military and the SDF.
At the onset of the talks at the U.S. Defense Department, Nukaga expressed Japan's strong disappointment about the murder of a 56-year-old woman allegedly by an arrested U.S. Navy sailor in early January in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, the defense chief said.
Nukaga said he called for Rumsfeld's commitment to implement preventive measures and stricter discipline, while the U.S. defense chief expressed his deep regret over the incident.
==Kyodo
Jan 4 04:13 AM US/Eastern
TOKYO, Jan. 4 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Japan will stick to its agreement with the United States over a Japan-U.S. airfield construction plan for relocating the U.S. Marine Corps Futemma Air Station, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday, following recent remarks by Defense Agency chief Fumio Kyuma indicating flexibility over the plan.
The Japanese and U.S. governments finalized a plan last May to build an airfield with two 1,800-meter runways in a V-shape on the coastline of the U.S. Marines' Camp Schwab and nearby landfill areas in Nago. The plan would allow for the relocation of the Futemma base from the densely populated city of Ginowan.
"Our position on the relocation of Futemma air station based on the V- shape plan remains unchanged," Press Secretary Mitsuo Sakaba said at a news conference, adding that the plan needed to be steadily implemented.
Kyuma told reporters Wednesday during a trip to Bangkok, "It would be good if it has only one runway," adding such a plan should cost less and would be better for Japan's debt-ridden state finances.
Meanwhile, in Naha, Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima said he welcomed Kyuma's remark.
Kyuma's suggestion that he is considering an alternative plan calling for a single-runway airfield shows "flexibility," Nakaima told Kyodo News in Naha on Thursday.
"The Okinawa prefectural government would accept a plan that can win the agreement of local people, regardless of whether it has one runway or V-shaped runways," he said.
But Nakaima added, "It's unclear if the idea has been worked out by (the agency's) officials," expressing concern about the possibility that the new idea is still a personal fancy of Kyuma, who assumed the post in September.
The Futemma relocation plan -- a major pillar of last year's Japan- U.S. accord on the realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan -- has been accepted by the Nago city government provided that aircraft do not fly over residential areas, but has not been accepted by the Okinawa prefectural government.
Current laws require authorization by the Okinawa governor for landfill work that would be necessary for the airfield construction plan.
The initial Japan-U.S. accord calling for relocating Futemma to an offshore airfield near Camp Schwab stalled for a decade due in part to protesters blocking construction.
Nakaima, who took office in December, has expressed his acceptance of a plan to relocate Futemma to another part of Okinawa, but won the gubernatorial election the preceding month with a pledge to oppose the planned airfield with V-shaped runways.
By David Pilling
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