The Yomiuri Shimbun
The realignment of U.S. forces stationed in Okinawa Prefecture is finally about to enter the implementation phase. It is important that an agreement made between Japan and the United States be steadily implemented so that breakthrough measures to reduce burdens borne by local communities hosting U.S. bases can be taken.
The government in its draft budget for fiscal 2009 earmarked 83.9 billion yen for the realignment as part of defense-related spending. This is more than triple the figure from the previous year.
The draft budget set aside 34.6 billion yen for the transfer of U.S. Marine Corps units in Okinawa Prefecture to Guam, including site preparation work for its headquarters and accommodation facilities. The relocation of Futenma Air Station in Ginowan in the prefecture to Camp Schwab in Nago comes with a price tag of 9.4 billion yen.
Tokyo and Washington have agreed that the relocation of Futenma Air Station and the transfer of 8,000 marines to Guam will be completed by the end of 2014 and that the sites of six U.S. military facilities, including Futenma, be returned to Japan.
These plans are well balanced in that the deterrent capability of the U.S. forces will be maintained while the burdens on Okinawa Prefecture will be eased.
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Negotiations deadlocked
It is important that the plans are carried out in unison. If the planned transfer of Futenma Air Station does not progress, the overall plan will stall. This would spell failure for measures aimed at lessening local burdens.
The Okinawa prefectural government has yet to agree to a plan to construct alternative facilities to Futenma Air Station on a waterfront area of Camp Schwab. The prefectural government has demanded the facilities be built far off the shore from the camp. However, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has refused to accept the offshore plan. The negotiations thus have been deadlocked.
Some Japanese officials had hopes that the administration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama will accept the prefecture's demand on the relocation site. But the possibility of that happening significantly diminished when Obama decided to retain U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates. This could have serious implications.
After all, proceeding with the plans agreed by the two governments offers the shortest path to making the return of Futenma Air Station site a reality. Twelve years have passed since the agreement on the return of the air station was made. Any further delay in the plan could erode the credibility of the Japan-U.S. alliance.
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Govt must do more
Under the cabinet of former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, then Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura and some other officials in the Prime Minister's Office were actively involved in the relocation issue. But the Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso has lacked a "control tower" on this matter. The Aso Cabinet needs to give more attention to the relocation and spare no effort in coordination efforts with the Okinawa prefectural government and other concerned local governments.
The defense budget planned for fiscal 2009 totals 4.77 trillion yen, 0.1 percent less than the previous year's initial budget. This will mark a decline in defense spending for seven consecutive years. In fiscal 2010 and beyond, the cost of realigning U.S. forces may increase further, which would squeeze the budget available for other defense projects.
Among neighboring nations, however, not only China and Russia but also South Korea, India, Australia and the United States have sharply increased their defense spending in recent years.
The government must be careful not to give the impression that only Japan is reducing its defense spending and attaches little importance to security issues.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 31, 2008)
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