- Sputnik International
Asia
Find top stories and features from Asia and the Pacific region. Keep updated on major political stories and analyses from Asia and the Pacific. All you want to know about China, Japan, North and South Korea, India and Pakistan, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Japanese Politician Proposes Solution to US Airbase Relocation Dispute

© AFP 2023 / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA(FILES) A file picture taken on April 24, 2010 shows planes and helicopters stationed at the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma base in Ginowan, Okinawa prefecture
(FILES) A file picture taken on April 24, 2010 shows planes and helicopters stationed at the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma base in Ginowan, Okinawa prefecture - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Japan's Okinawa prefectural assembly member Hiroshi Goya said that in order to reach a compromise on the US Futenma airbase, the coastal landfill work should not be carried out near Camp Schwab, relocating the base to the training practice ground site.

MV-22 Ospreys are seen at the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station and the surrounding area from an observation deck at a park in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture on southern Japan - Sputnik International
Asia
Japan Starts Hearing on Tokyo-Okinawa US Military Base Dispute
TOKYO (Sputnik) — Japan's Okinawa prefectural assembly member Hiroshi Goya proposed on Thursday a compromise in the US Futenma airbase relocation dispute.

In late October, the Japanese government resumed construction of a new base for the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, having negated a regional government veto on its relocation from Okinawa's highly-populated district in the city of Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area of Nago city.

"To reach a compromise, the coastal landfill work should not be carried out near Camp Schwab, relocating the base to the training practice ground site…If that is possible, then the government will get results in moving the Futenma airbase, while the governor and his supporters will be granted their main demand, which is to prevent landfill work," the lawmaker told Radio Sputnik Japanese.

The relocation decision has met resistance from Okinawa's local authorities. With many Okinawa residents wishing to see the base gone rather than relocated, Okinawa Prefecture Governor Takeshi Onaga forced the central government to temporarily halt construction in August 2015. Elected in 2014, Onaga ran on promises to oppose the airbase's construction. In mid-November, the Okinawa government was sued by the central government over the dispute.

Protesters in front of Camp Schwab - Sputnik International
Asia
Pro-US Airbase Relocation Mayor Poised for Victory in Okinawa Election
The Okinawa prefecture primarily seeks to prevent landfill work in the Henoko coastal area, intended for use as an airstrip, Goya said. In turn, the central government's priority is to relocate Futemna from Ginowan, where the airbase is surrounded by dense residential areas and is considered highly dangerous, he added. Goya stressed that an alternative location for Futenma's new airstrip would need to ensure that US aircraft do not fly over residential areas.

The Futenma airbase houses 25,800 US servicemen along with 19,000 family members and civilians, according to the Okinawa prefecture.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала