JCP protests U.S. forces’ exercises with F-16s and FA-18s at Atsugi

   Five F-16 fighter jets with the U.S. Air Force in South Korea on December 10 flew in to the U.S. Atsugi Naval Air Station in Kanagawa Prefecture and began joint training exercises with carrier-borne FA-18 fighter jets in the area. The training is scheduled to end on December 20.

   Hatano Kimie, Japanese Communist Party House of Representatives election candidate, together with ten JCP assembly members and activists, visited the Atsugi base on the same day and presented a protest letter signed by JCP local assembly groups in nine cities in the area surrounding the base addressed to the base commander demanding an immediate halt to the exercises.

   In a meeting with a base officer, Hatano pointed out that the number of complaints about the noise pollution from the base from January to October reached 7,756 and stressed that the residents will not continue to tolerate it.

   The base officer said, “This is the first time for the fighter jets belonging to the U.S. Force in South Korea and the U.S. Force in Japan to jointly carry out training exercises in this area and for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force to carry out joint exercises in Japan.” He stressed that it is necessary for the U.S. forces to strengthen cooperation between the four forces.
- Akahata, December 11, 2007