Japanese defence minister and US ambassador agree to ease Okinawa’s burden
US and Japan meet to discuss ways to relieve the burden of accommodating American military forces in Okinawa prefecture
Japan’s Defence Minister Akinori Eto and US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy agreed on Thursday to work together toward a reduction in the burden on Okinawa Prefecture of hosting the bulk of American military bases and other facilities in Japan.
During a meeting at the Defence Ministry, Eto told Kennedy that the Japanese government intends to move forward with the relocation of the US Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station within the nation’s southernmost prefecture, but that “it’s important to gain support from the people of Okinawa”.
Kennedy said the United States is willing to do what it can to help.
The meeting, arranged during Kennedy’s courtesy call on the new minister after a cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, was partially open to the press.
The meeting followed Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga’s visit to Okinawa the previous day, where he said Japan would try to end Futenma operations by February 2019, revealing a specific deadline for the first time.
Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima had requested that the base be closed “within five years” as part of efforts to reduce Okinawa’s base-hosting burden. After Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told him in response that a relevant working group would be set up within the ministry, Nakaima approved in December the start of landfill work to build a replacement facility in waters off Nago for the Futenma base, which is located in densely populated Ginowan.
Also on Thursday, Suga, who doubles as state minister in charge of alleviating Okinawa’s base-hosting burden, visited Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture – the seaside city that hosts the US Marines’ Iwakuni Air Station – to meet with local leaders.
During talks with Governor Tsugumasa Muraoka and Iwakuni Mayor Yoshihiko Fukuda, Suga said the central government intends to consider “necessary steps” for prefectures where defence facilities are located, a reference to the central government’s subsidy programme for municipalities affected by the broader realignment of US forces in Japan.
The US military has already transferred 15 KC-130 air refuelling tankers and military personnel to Iwakuni from the Futenma. A total of 59 carrier-based aircraft will be moved there from the US Navy’s Atsugi base in Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo around 2017.
At their meeting in Tokyo, Eto and Kennedy also discussed the planned revision to bilateral defence cooperation guidelines by the end of this year, and agreed to accelerate work so an interim report can be compiled in time for its expected release in early October, according to the Defence Ministry.
The guidelines specify the role and mission of the Self-Defence Forces and the US military. The upcoming revision, the first in 17 years, is expected to reflect new developments surrounding Japan’s right to collective self-defence after Tokyo reinterpreted the pacifist Constitution in July to allow its troops to defend allies should they come under attack.
