Tokyo Says Will Resume US Airbase Relocation in Okinawa Despite Local Opposition
US helicopters and planes parked at Futenma US Marine Base in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture (File)
TOKYO (Sputnik) – The Japanese government believes that the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma (MCAS Futenma) should remain in the Okinawa prefecture despite calls from the local residents to move it elsewhere, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Monday.
"From the point of view of strengthening the US-Japanese alliance, combined with the need to relocate the base, moving it to the Henoko area [of Okinawa] is the only solution, and advancing the construction [n Henoko] will allow to return the base as soon as possible and get rid of the danger," Matsuno said at a press conference following the re-election of Okinawa governor Denny Tamaki, who opposes US military presence in Japan's southernmost prefecture.
Tamaki, who has consistently supported the transfer of MCAS Futenma outside of the prefecture, won a second four-year-term following Sunday’s governor election likely due to his strong opposition to the base’s relocation to the Henoko area within the same Okinawa prefecture.The citizens of Okinawa oppose the US presence on the island. They regularly complain about the noise of low-flying planes and the danger of accidents at US bases, as well as crimes committed over the years by US military personnel. The US military, in turn, claim that the crime rate among their personnel is lower than among the population of Okinawa.Environmentalists also complain that the necessary work at the landfill for the construction of the base will destroy coral reefs and damage the habitat of manatees.In 2015, the former governor of Okinawa, Takeshi Onaga, barred the decision to move MCAS Futenma from the city of Ginowan to the northern Henoko area, demanding that it be completely removed from the region. In 2018, Onaga died, but his successor Tamaki continued to push for the withdrawal of the base from the island. The central government won a number of lawsuits, after which the process of moving the base to the Henoko area resumed.