17 years ago the U.S. and Japan reached an agreement to move the Futenma Marine Corp airbase from the middle of Ginowan city to Nago on Okinawa. Since the that agreement was reached there has been no movement on this issue as the people of Okinawa and the city where it is to be relocated have fought the relocation since the agreement was reached. Until December of 2013 the governor of Okinawa has refused to issue the necessary environmental impact statements needed for construction and relocation to take place.
People living in Okinawa near those bases are concerned not only about the environmental impact but the associated crimes and possible crashes of the aircraft stationed at the facility.
People living in Okinawa near those bases are concerned not only about the environmental impact but the associated crimes and possible crashes of the aircraft stationed at the facility.
Inamine’s victory will make it more difficult to move forward, analysts said.
“I don’t think it’ll be easy now for the U.S. base to be relocated, but I think there is a limit to what a local mayor can do,” said Toshiyuki Shikata, a former Japanese military officer and professor of political science at Teikyo University in Tokyo.
The Futenma air station would be moved from Ginowan city to sparsely populated Henoko district in Nago, because of concerns about aircraft noise, accidents in civilian areas and base-related crimes such as rape. The proposed move is part of a broader plan to consolidate and reduce the U.S. military presence in Okinawa, currently home to about half of the U.S. troops in Japan.
“Despite all the efforts, the Liberal Democratic Party has lost,” said Koichi Nakano, professor of political science at Sophia University in Tokyo. “I think it reflects how strongly people are opposed to a base relocation.”
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