Tuesday August 7, 8:06 PM(Kyodo)
The Japanese government submitted a document on procedures to conduct an environmental impact assessment for the relocation of a U.S. Marine Corps facility within Okinawa to the Okinawa prefectural government Tuesday, local government officials said.
With the submission, the relocation plan could move forward regardless of the local government's objections, as the prefecture, which is seeking modification of the central government's relocation plan, cannot refuse to accept the document unless there are flaws in it, according to the Environment Ministry.
Under an agreement reached with the United States in May 2006, the Japanese government plans to build an airfield with two runways in a V-shaped formation off the coast of the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Schwab and a new landfill nearby by 2014 to replace the Futemma [Futenma] Air Station, which is located in a densely-populated area of Ginowan.
But the Okinawa prefectural government has said it "cannot accept the current government plan," with local leaders proposing that the runways be built further offshore to the southwest to reduce noise to nearby residential areas.
An Okinawa government official said the prefecture has not yet formally accepted the document submitted by the Defense Facilities Administration Agency's Naha bureau.
In order to realize the relocation, the central government needs to follow procedures set by the environmental impact assessment law.
Under the law, the government is required to submit a document to the prefecture and related local governments outlining the content of the survey, to make the document public and to finalize its contents based on any suggestions and the written opinion of the prefectural governor.
The central government, which wants to conclude the assessment procedures by 2009 in order to complete the relocation by 2014, conducted a "preliminary survey" in May in waters off Camp Schwab in Nago.
The government had planned to reflect the results of the preliminary survey in the environmental impact assessment after gaining the understanding of the Okinawa prefectural government.
The Futemma [Futenma] relocation is a main pillar of the overall plan for the realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan, which also includes moving 8,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam and dispersing flight drills from congested bases to other facilities across the country.
Meanwhile, the agency spoke to local leaders about planned training by the Ground Self-Defense Force involving live-fire shooting, explosions and vehicles at the U.S. Marines' Camp Hansen in the town of Kin.
The training is specified in a final implementation plan issued in May 2006 as part of the bilateral agreement to realign the U.S. military in Japan.
But Kin Mayor Tsuyoshi Gibu said the agency did not give details about the scale and dates of the training exercise.
Gibu also told reporters that there was no progress on elements specified in the final plan such as moving 8,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam and alleviating the local burden from training exercises.
On the GSDF's training at Camp Hansen, Gibu said, "I am currently opposed" to the plan because it will lead to an increased local burden.
Prior to the meeting with local leaders, the agency called on the Okinawa prefectural government and asked for cooperation to implement the realignment plan and explained the subsidies to be given by the central government in line with the degree of cooperation from local authorities.
Also on Tuesday, the Naha Regional Defense Facilities Administration Bureau commenced proceedings to expropriate some plots of land in the prefecture so that the state can continue leasing land to the U.S. military after December 2009 under the Special Land Use Law.
The move follows the continued refusal by landowners to sign leasing contracts.
The areas involved include parts of the Futemma [Futenma] air station and a U.S. military port in the Okinawa capital of Naha.
It is the sixth time that the government has been involved in such procedures regarding land connected to the Futemma [Futenma] and Naha facilities. [1620]
----------------Futenma Background Information:---------------
Lawless Announces Agreement on Futenma, October 26, 2005
U.S. Agrees to Relocate Marines on Okinawa, Deal to Move Air Operations Resolves Long-Standing Dispute in Alliance With Japan, October 27, 2005
The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Unbalanced and Unfulfilled, November 11, 2005
Lawless Gives Briefing on Plan for Moving Marines to Guam, April 27, 2006
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