The government's plan to provide the U.S. forces with an airfield for problematic touch-and-go exercises has been thwarted by strong opposition from the local assembly, residents, the mayor as well as the peace movement.
On February 5, the mayor of Okimi Town in Hiroshima Prefecture, Tanimoto Hidekazu, retracted his earlier decision to allow a U.S. base to be constructed on the town's island in the Inland Sea and announced he will resign.
The reason the mayor gave for his retraction was the growing opposition from townspeople, neighboring municipalities, and even the Hiroshima prefectural government. He said he will take responsibility for causing a panic among residents and hurting the image of Hiroshima as a city promoting international peace.
In late January, Mayor Tanimoto suddenly expressed his willingness to accept the central government suggestion that the U.S. forces may use the town's Okurokami Island for night-landing practices (NLPs).
The U.S. forces have conducted NLPs at U.S. Atsugi Naval Air Station near Tokyo, causing local residents serious noise pollution. To solve this problem, the Japanese government has been looking for an alternative site for the touch-and-go exercises.
Mayor Tanimoto's decision infuriated neighboring municipality heads as well as the Hiroshima governor and the Hiroshima City mayor. The Japanese Communist Party and peace organizations were quick in expressing their opposition. The Okimi Town Assembly also pressed the mayor to abandon the base plan.
An editorial of a newspaper of the region said, "We can hardly believe the central government's irresponsibility in considering the construction of a military base in Hiroshima, which has the noble mission of making the tragedy of the atomic bombing known to the world." A town resident said, "I am afraid that public safety will be threatened if such a U.S. base is allowed to be constructed in our region."
Hiroshima residents do not want NLP base
In a determined move to block the construction of a new base for U.S. night landing practice (NLP) on a Hiroshima island, representatives of a people's joint center requested on Feb. 4 that Okimi Town and three other neighboring towns oppose the NLP base construction. "We don't want any military facility built in Hiroshima," they said.
The "joint center" consists of 14 peace organizations, including the Hiroshima Council against A and H Bombs (Hiroshima Gensuikyo) and Hiroshima A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization (Hiroshima Hidankyo).
They were infuriated by the Okimi Town mayor's announcement that he is ready to provide a site for the U.S. touch-and-go exercises, which currently take place at the U.S. Atsugi Air Station in Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo. Earlier, the Okimi Town Assembly expressed objection to the NLP relocation to the town. (end)
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