SUBHEAD: Japanese voters re-elect mayor opposed to base complaining of pollution, crime and accidents.
By Justin McCurry on 20 January 2014 for the Guardian -
(http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/20/okinawa-us-base-relocation-plans-setback)
Image above: Susumu Inamine, mayor of the town of Nago on the east coast of Okinawa, celebrating with supporters after he was re-elected. From original article.
Attempts to relocate a controversial US marine base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa received a blow when voters in the base's proposed new location re-elected a mayor who has vowed to block the move.
The victory by Susumu Inamine, who stood on an anti-base platform in the city of Nago, is a serious setback to efforts by the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, to move the Futenma marine corps base from a heavily populated part of the island to a more remote site.
The base's uncertain future has been a thorn in the side of relations between Japan and the US, which appeared to have made a breakthrough last month when Okinawa's governor, Hirokazu Nakaima, ended his opposition to the relocation plan.
But the move is opposed by many Okinawans who want it taken off their island altogether. They complain of noise pollution, crime perpetrated by US servicemen and the risk of aircraft accidents.
Attempts by Abe to garner support with promises of a huge increase in development aid to Okinawa failed to win over voters.
Now, plans to build two new runways on an offshore location in the picturesque Henoko area of Nago will be next to impossible without local consent.
Inamine, who was supported by progressive groups opposed to the US military presence on Okinawa, said his victory proved that the city had rejected the plan, which is supposed to begin with land reclamation off Nago's pristine coastline.
Inamine received 19,839 votes, while his pro-base challenger Bunshin Suematsu, who was backed by Abe's Liberal Democratic party (LDP), got 15,684.
"The plan must go back to square one," Inamine told reporters. "I will reject all procedures that are premised on the landfill project."
The election result leaves the LDP in a difficult position. Further delays will anger the US at a time of rising tensions in the Asia-Pacific, while any attempt to push through construction would provoke more fury in Okinawa.
But the chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, hinted that the latter option had not been ruled out, citing Inamine's "limited authority" and support for relocation from Nakaima.
"The governor approved the landfill project last year and, while explaining and seeking understanding as much as possible, we want to move ahead," Suga told reporters.
The defence minister, Itsunori Onodera, also said construction would go ahead as planned. "We hope to make steady progress on the relocation plan in order to eliminate risks posed by Futenma," he said. "It was a local election and I don't think it will have a direct impact on the relocation issue."
The Futenma question threatens to cast a cloud over US-Japan ties as the allies attempt to address Chinese naval aggression in the region and North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. Senior US officials have voiced irritation that a deal to move the facility, reached in 1996, has made next to no progress. The countries agreed to reduce the US military footprint on the island in the wake of the abduction and rape of a local schoolgirl by three US servicemen a year earlier.
In an attempt to further reduce the burden on Okinawa's civilian population, Washington and Tokyo have agreed to move about 8,000 marines and their dependents to Guam, Hawaii and Australia.
Okinawa, which was invaded by US forces at the end of the war and only reverted to Japanese control in 1972, is home to about half the 47,000 US troops stationed in Japan. Although it accounts for just one percent of Japan's total area, the island hosts about 75% of US bases in Japan. Military facilities take up one-fifth of the island.
"Inamine's victory will give momentum to the anti-base movement and the opposition campaign could spread," Takashi Kawakami, a professor at Takushoku University, told Reuters. "Abe will probably try to forge ahead but there will probably be an opposition movement … and if this is reported daily in the media, Abe's support rates could fall."
See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: It's Universal 1//9/09
Ea O Ka Aina: GUAM - Another Strategic Island 9/9/09
Ea O Ka Aina: Pacific Resistance to U.S. Military 5/24/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Peace for the Blue Continent 9/10/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa breathes easier 4/27/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Navy to conquer Marianas again 9/3/13
.
By Justin McCurry on 20 January 2014 for the Guardian -
(http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/20/okinawa-us-base-relocation-plans-setback)
Image above: Susumu Inamine, mayor of the town of Nago on the east coast of Okinawa, celebrating with supporters after he was re-elected. From original article.
Attempts to relocate a controversial US marine base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa received a blow when voters in the base's proposed new location re-elected a mayor who has vowed to block the move.
The victory by Susumu Inamine, who stood on an anti-base platform in the city of Nago, is a serious setback to efforts by the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, to move the Futenma marine corps base from a heavily populated part of the island to a more remote site.
The base's uncertain future has been a thorn in the side of relations between Japan and the US, which appeared to have made a breakthrough last month when Okinawa's governor, Hirokazu Nakaima, ended his opposition to the relocation plan.
But the move is opposed by many Okinawans who want it taken off their island altogether. They complain of noise pollution, crime perpetrated by US servicemen and the risk of aircraft accidents.
Attempts by Abe to garner support with promises of a huge increase in development aid to Okinawa failed to win over voters.
Now, plans to build two new runways on an offshore location in the picturesque Henoko area of Nago will be next to impossible without local consent.
Inamine, who was supported by progressive groups opposed to the US military presence on Okinawa, said his victory proved that the city had rejected the plan, which is supposed to begin with land reclamation off Nago's pristine coastline.
Inamine received 19,839 votes, while his pro-base challenger Bunshin Suematsu, who was backed by Abe's Liberal Democratic party (LDP), got 15,684.
"The plan must go back to square one," Inamine told reporters. "I will reject all procedures that are premised on the landfill project."
The election result leaves the LDP in a difficult position. Further delays will anger the US at a time of rising tensions in the Asia-Pacific, while any attempt to push through construction would provoke more fury in Okinawa.
But the chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, hinted that the latter option had not been ruled out, citing Inamine's "limited authority" and support for relocation from Nakaima.
"The governor approved the landfill project last year and, while explaining and seeking understanding as much as possible, we want to move ahead," Suga told reporters.
The defence minister, Itsunori Onodera, also said construction would go ahead as planned. "We hope to make steady progress on the relocation plan in order to eliminate risks posed by Futenma," he said. "It was a local election and I don't think it will have a direct impact on the relocation issue."
The Futenma question threatens to cast a cloud over US-Japan ties as the allies attempt to address Chinese naval aggression in the region and North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. Senior US officials have voiced irritation that a deal to move the facility, reached in 1996, has made next to no progress. The countries agreed to reduce the US military footprint on the island in the wake of the abduction and rape of a local schoolgirl by three US servicemen a year earlier.
In an attempt to further reduce the burden on Okinawa's civilian population, Washington and Tokyo have agreed to move about 8,000 marines and their dependents to Guam, Hawaii and Australia.
Okinawa, which was invaded by US forces at the end of the war and only reverted to Japanese control in 1972, is home to about half the 47,000 US troops stationed in Japan. Although it accounts for just one percent of Japan's total area, the island hosts about 75% of US bases in Japan. Military facilities take up one-fifth of the island.
"Inamine's victory will give momentum to the anti-base movement and the opposition campaign could spread," Takashi Kawakami, a professor at Takushoku University, told Reuters. "Abe will probably try to forge ahead but there will probably be an opposition movement … and if this is reported daily in the media, Abe's support rates could fall."
See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: It's Universal 1//9/09
Ea O Ka Aina: GUAM - Another Strategic Island 9/9/09
Ea O Ka Aina: Pacific Resistance to U.S. Military 5/24/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Peace for the Blue Continent 9/10/10
Ea O Ka Aina: Okinawa breathes easier 4/27/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Navy to conquer Marianas again 9/3/13
.
1 comment :
YAY!!!!!
Post a Comment