June 29, 2010Japan, the United States and the local government on Yonaguni Island, Okinawa Prefecture are calling for deployment of Self-Defense Forces (SDF) troops to Japan's westernmost island, but for different reasons.
Tokyo and Washington believe SDF troops should be deployed to Yonaguni, the island on Japan's boundary with Taiwan, to counter China's military expansion, while the Yonaguni Municipal Government wants troops as part of the revitalization of the local community.
"We must consider some deployment to the island," Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said in response to the municipal government's request for deployment of about 200 Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) troops. Kitazawa announced that he will seek allocations from the fiscal 2011 state budget to cover expenses of conducting a survey on the issue.
When he assumed the post in September 2009, Kitazawa expressed reluctance to deploy troops to the island on the grounds that it would provoke "a neighboring country," an apparent reference to China.
However, he changed his mind after inspecting the island in March this year, and decided to seek to deploy troops to the island to counter China's military buildup.
Moreover, a Chinese fleet of 10 warships passed through waters near the island in April as if to demonstrate the country's military capacity, an act which has apparently convinced Kitazawa.
The United States will apparently welcome the deployment of SDF troops to Yonaguni, which it believes will help counter China's military expansion.
In a speech in Washington on June 7, Jeffrey Bader, senior director for Asian affairs on the U.S. National Security Council, said the United States has decided to sell weapons to Taiwan out of concern over China's growing military strength. Tokyo and Washington have agreed to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within Okinawa Prefecture also to counter uncertainty in East Asia.
Former Okinawa Vice Gov. Masanori Yoshimoto, who was born and raised on Yonaguni Island, said the United States has an eye to Japanese-U.S. joint use of a base on the island.
"Washington often uses the issue of Taiwan to contain China. The U.S. is obviously considering joint use of an SDF facility on the island," he said.
There was a debate on the issue of deploying SDF troops to the island during a session of the municipal assembly on Yonaguni.
"Could you tell me about your position on whether SDF troops should be deployed here?" asked Kenichi Itokazu, a member of the Yonaguni Municipal Assembly.
"We've constantly asked the national government to deploy troops. We'll welcome it if the national government allocates funds from its state budget for that purpose," Mayor Shukichi Hokama replied.
"There is no organization on the island that defends the country. Is it all right that the security situation on an island on a national boundary remains so loose?" a high-ranking official of the municipal government stated.
However, the mayor admits that is not the true reason why Yonaguni is calling for deployment of GSDF troops.
"We rarely think about deterring China. Our goal is to revitalize the island. The SDF is a kind of industry," Hokama said.
However, Yonaguni residents are divided over the pros and cons of stationing GSDF troops there. In the mayoral race in August last year, Hokama defeated his anti-deployment rival Chiyoki Tasato by only a narrow margin.
(Mainichi Japan) June 29, 2010
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