2009/4/18The Lower House on Tuesday gave its approval to an agreement between Japan and the United States to transfer thousands of U.S. Marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam, ensuring that the pact will be ratified by the Diet during the current session.
Under the accord, which is coupled with a plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in the city of Ginowan to the Henoko district in Nago, 8,000 Marines and their 9,000 dependents will be moved to Guam. The pact commits the Japanese government to provide some $6 billion (about 600 billion yen) for the relocation program.
For Okinawa Prefecture, home to 70 percent of the U.S. military facilities in Japan, reducing the burden of hosting U.S. military bases is the principal policy imperative. The relocation of the Futenma facility, located in the middle of a densely populated city, is the centerpiece of the effort to lessen the burden.
The planned Futenma relocation will be a groundbreaking event if it is carried out. But the Diet debate on the Japan-U.S. accord highlighted many uncertainties.
One concerns the actual number of Marines who will be transferred to Guam. The government's recently published Diplomatic Blue Book 2009 says 8,000 Marines and their 9,000 dependents will be transferred from Okinawa to Guam by 2014. During the Diet deliberations, however, the government revealed that the reduction concerns only the maximum number permitted. This is not the same as a reduction in the total number of Marines actually stationed in Okinawa.
The full strength of Marines stationed at U.S. bases in Okinawa now stands at 18,000. As many of them are deployed around the world, the actual number of Marines stationed in the southern prefecture at any one time is roughly 13,000. The number of their dependents comes to some 8,000, considerably less than the figure previously argued by the government.
When asked how many of the Marines will actually be moved from Okinawa to Guam, Prime Minister Taro Aso said, "We can't possibly know." Then, it is impossible to know to what extent the burden on local residents will actually be reduced.
The Japanese government will provide up to $2.8 billion to help finance the construction of the headquarters building and housing for U.S. troops in Guam. But the government doesn't know how many buildings will be put up. It has refused to give a breakdown of the $2.8 billion.
Ginowan Mayor Yoichi Iha criticized the way the government has been dealing with this issue at a Lower House committee session.
"Japan and the United States reached the agreement, aiming primarily at easing the burden (of U.S. military bases) on Okinawa, but it has yet to be made clear how the burden will be lessened," he said. "The government is showing no discernible enthusiasm (about tackling the problem)."
Iha's criticism should surprise no one.
What must not be forgotten is that the Diet approval of the Japan-U.S. accord won't automatically solve these problems. The process of the relocation of Futenma air station will start only after the governments of Okinawa and Nago agree to move the facility to Henoko.
Building a planned new runway there requires the approval of Okinawa's governor because it involves a massive coastal reclamation. Local communities are opposed to the plan because of expected noise and other problems. Governor Hirokazu Nakaima is demanding that the runway be built further off the coast than current plans call for.
The central government has promised to hold talks with local communities. It has not ruled out partial revisions to the plan. However, it has shown no sign of preparing for serious negotiations over Futenma. Any revision to the plan would require the nod from Washington. There are still many hurdles to clear before the relocation can be carried out. With a Lower House election slated to be held by autumn, the fate of the current Aso government is unclear.
Putting off the process, however, could cause the whole relocation plan to return to square one. Already, 13 years have passed since the leaders of the two nations first agreed on the relocation of the Futenma air station. Ratification of the accord will legally bind Japan to the promised financial contribution, but the principal goal of reducing the burden of U.S. military presence borne by people in Okinawa could be left in limbo.
--The Asahi Shimbun, April 17(IHT/Asahi: April 18,2009)
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