 Japan and U.S. agree on handover of Okinawa's air traffic control to Japan With the proviso that U.S. military flights will not be affected, the U.S. government on December 10 agreed to return to Japan the right of air-traffic control of the airspace over Okinawa by the end of 2007. The United States has controlled all flights, military and civil, in Okinawa's airspace at the U.S. Kadena Air Base (Kadena radar approach control = Kadena RAPCON). Returning the Kadena RAPCON to Japan was a condition agreed upon between the United States and Japan at the time of the return to Japan of the administrative rights over Okinawa in 1972. Japan may have its air-traffic control system at Naha Airport, but airline employees are very concerned about safety. Many say, "We are not sure whether we will be fully informed of U.S. forces' flight schedules. We are afraid that the airspace used by civil and military aircraft will continue to be dangerous." In the airspace over Okinawa, risks of collision and near misses are higher than at any other airport in Japan because Japanese civil aircraft and U.S. military aircraft share the limited space. Rights of air-traffic control over the "Yokota area" (central Japan that includes Tokyo) and over the "Iwakuni area" (western Japan) are still in U.S. hands and their return to Japan is not yet in sight. (end) |