A basis for security

Although China may be disappointed, most of Japan's neighbours will be relieved that the Governor of Okinawa has been ordered to sign documents compelling landlords to rent land to the US military. A High Court judgment said his previous refusal was not in the public interest. Many Asians would agree.

If Governor Masahide Ota had forced the Americans out of Okinawa, regional security might have been at risk. The dispatch of US aircraft carriers to monitor China's military exercises off Taiwan was designed not only to signal American intentions to Beijing and Taipei, but also to remind the rest of Asia of its security role.

Support infrastructure will be needed in the Western Pacific for the foreseeable future so the bases in Okinawa, less than 700 kilometres from Taipei, have acquired still greater value since the loss of US bases in the Philippines.

The people of Okinawa think otherwise. Some 75 per cent of American military land in Japan is concentrated on their island, where feelings have run high since three US servicemen raped a 12-year-old girl - and then received ludicrously short sentences for the crime.

Land is compulsorily leased out and decisions are taken in Washington or 1,600 kilometres away in Tokyo. Locally, Governor Ota's refusal to sign the lease orders has made him a hero.

America cannot simply pull out of Japan. Prime Minister Ryutaru Hashimoto is right to warn that he will sign the papers himself if necessary. But in the long run, the US must re-examine the way its forces are deployed. A reduction of forces in Okinawa must be compensated for by bases on more welcoming shores. In the meantime, the least Washington can promise is stricter controls on its troops. No one wants or expects another Philippines-style exit. But a redistribution of American military might in the region would be welcomed.