Japan. Americans want a new base, locals are against it
Today, Okinawa Prefect Takeshi Onaga revoked permission to allocate a new site for the construction of a military base.
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The American command wanted to move the Futenma Marine Corps base from the densely populated central part of the island to Henoko, located in a remote protected bay. According to the project, the base includes the construction of a runway extending into the sea, the construction of which will ruin the coral reef.
Late last year, Onaga won local elections by betting on the slogan of fighting the new base. “In order to fulfill my promise not to allow any more construction to begin, I will continue to resolve this issue to the best of my ability,” the prefect said today. The basis for the revocation of the permit was legal inaccuracies in the documents for the allocation of land for construction issued by the previous administration. The construction permit issued to its head in December 2013 cost him the prefect’s chair.
Japanese Defense Minister General Nakatani has already stated that Governor Onaga's actions are illegal, and as soon as all legal issues are resolved, the base transfer will continue.
Takeshi Onaga decided to act unilaterally after all his attempts to resolve the issue with the Japanese government had no effect. In August, the government decided to introduce a month-long moratorium on construction. Literally half an hour before Onaga met on this occasion with the specially arrived Secretary General of the Cabinet Yoshihide Suga, another “Black Hawk down” happened on the island - an American military helicopter Sikorsky UH-60, known as the “Black Hawk,” fell. However, a month has passed, and the cart is still there. Onaga even went to Washington, where he knocked on every door, including the UN, to dissuade the Pentagon from his plan, but to no avail. The American administration told him that the issue of allocating land for the base was an internal matter between Japan and the United States and had nothing to do with it.
Takeshi Ohnaka tries to politely convince the commander of the Okinawa contingent, Lieutenant General John Wissler, that his constituents are not happy with the new base.
To date, the Americans have built 32 bases in Okinawa, which are a constant source of problems for local residents. Scandals involving violence against them by soldiers have broken out more than once. Periodically falling helicopters also pose a threat to residents, one of which crashed onto the campus of Okinawa International University in 2004. The American contingent on the island amounts to almost 40 thousand people (of which 10 are Marines), the largest American Air Force base outside the United States is located here, and special agreements with the Japanese government seriously limit Tokyo's ability to influence foreign troops stationed here. Onaga previously stated: “Did you know that Okinawa is essentially ruled by American generals? We don't have full freedom. All these years we cannot say whose island this is – Japanese or American.”
So the story of the fight against the new base is just an episode in the long confrontation between the Okinawans and the American military. Meanwhile, in the context of the confrontation with China in the East China Sea, where the disputed islands are located, it can be predicted that the matter will not be limited to just updating the American military infrastructure in Okinawa. And those in Eastern Europe, incl. and in Ukraine, those who advocate the placement of foreign military bases should take a closer look at the negative experience of Okinawa. This is especially true for those who, like children, rejoice at the recent visit to the Odessa port of an American destroyer.
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