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Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Japanese and U.S. governments must listen to the public
Akahata editorial (excerpts)

Japanese and U.S. defense negotiators last week failed to agree on the issues concerning the plan to realign U.S. forces in Japan, including the amount of money Japan should pay for relocating part of Okinawa-based U.S. Marines to Guam. The talks continued into the following week. The publication of realignment plan's "final report" is expected to be delayed until April at the earliest.

The talks were held without paying heed to local opposition. This shows that the Japanese government is pushing ahead with the realignment plan in complete disregard of the demands of local governments and residents.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe Shinzo stated that the "final report" will be published even without the central and local governments reaching agreement. Abe was quick to respond to U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urging Japan to clinch a deal as swiftly as possible regardless of local attitudes on the plan. Thus, the Japanese government is putting U.S. interests before residents' interests.

In Iwakuni's referendum held in March on the plan to relocate U.S. carrier-based fighter units from the U.S. Atsugi base in Kanagawa Prefecture to the U.S. Iwakuni base in Yamaguchi Prefecture, about 90 percent of the votes cast rejected to the plan. Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro said, "If such referendums are held in other parts of the country, their outcome will be just like the Iwakuni vote," but local governments will be forced to accept realignment plans.

As regards the plan to construct a new state-of-the-art air base in Okinawa, the major issue in the U.S. military realignment in Japan, Koizumi has maintained that the new base will be situated on the shoreline of U.S. Camp Schwab in Nago City. The Japanese government has offered "minor changes" as bait to deceive the local governments concerned into accepting its terms.

However, minor changes the Nago base plan, including the runway angle, will not free the residents from noise pollution and potential dangers of U.S. aircraft crashes. The new base, once constructed, will inevitably pollute the waters off the Henoko district of Nago where rare species of dugong inhabit.

Also, the new air base, annexed with a pier, will be made perpetual. This contradicts the 1996 Japan-U.S. Special Action Committee on Okinawa (SACO) agreement which stated that the new base will be withdrawn within a limited time frame.

Hiroshima's Hatsukaichi mayor and four other mayors in Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures expressed opposition to the relocation of the carrier-based aircraft unit to the U.S. Iwakuni air station because local residents have long been suffering from low-altitude flight exercises by Iwakuni-based units.

Zama and Sagamihara cities in Kanagawa Prefecture have been opposed to the plan to create a new U.S. Army unit command at U.S. Army Camp Zama that will command U.S. and Japanese units for U.S. preemptive attacks abroad.

The Japanese government must end its policy of subservience to the U.S., review the plan to realign U.S. forces in Japan, and fully respect local governments' and residents' interests.

It is now 61 years since the Second World War ended. Yet, the U.S. forces maintain 87 military facilities for their exclusive use, with 51 in mainland Japan and 36 in Okinawa.

Such an extraordinary situation under the U.S. military realignment plan that will make Japan a stronghold of U.S. first strikes throughout the world must be discontinued.
- Akahata, March 27, 2006