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Iwakuni mayor urges MOFA and DA to cancel plan to strengthen U.S. Iwakuni base

Mayor Ihara Katsusuke of Iwakuni City in Yamaguchi Prefecture on March 16 visited the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Agency to request that the government retract the plan to strengthen the U.S. Marine Corps Iwakuni Air Station, respecting the Iwakuni residents' overwhelming rejection of the plan as expressed in the March 12 plebiscite.

In meetings with government officials, Ihara stressed that the referendum result showed that citizens are firm in their refusal to endure additional burdens of the U.S. base and demanded that the government review its policy of hastily accepting the U.S. military realignment plan.

He stressed that the government should hold talks with the local government, adding that it should cancel the plan to transfer U.S. carrier aircraft from Atsugi in Kanagawa Prefecture to Iwakuni, and reduce the burden of residents near the U.S. Atsugi base from the viewpoint that this is a national problem.

The government officials, most of them below the rank of section chief, gave the cold shoulder to the mayor by stating that the "final report" on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan will be published in March. This shows how shocking the referendum result was to the government, but the government is clearly trying to continue to ignore Iwakuni's will.
- Akahata, March 17, 2006