Ginowan City Mayor asks for JCP efforts in removing U.S. Futenma base

   Mayor Iha Yoichi of Ginowan City in Okinawa that hosts the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station on October 23 visited Japanese Communist Chair Shii Kazuo in the Diet building and requested the JCP to further increase its efforts in order to resolve the base issue.

   Explaining the current situation in which U.S. aircraft conduct night flights and turning practices over residential areas, Iha pointed out that residents’ sufferings from the base have increased even after a U.S. Marine helicopter crashed near the base in 2004.

   “If the safety standards adopted in the United States were to be applied, the areas surrounding the Futenma base would be designated no-fly zones,” he said. He stressed the urgency of removing the danger posed by the base.

   Based on his on-site research in July into U.S. bases in Guam to which part of Okinawa-based Marine units are to relocate, Iha said, “The base to be constructed in Guam is fortress-like and stronger in its functions than the Futenma base.”

   The Japanese government insists that unless a new base is constructed in Nago City’s Henoko district in Okinawa, the Futenma base will not be removed. Iha, however, said, “The Futenma base can be removed without constructing a new base in Henoko.”

   Shii said, “I would like to express my deep respect for your efforts to remove the Futenma base from Japan.”

   Shii criticized the Japanese government for pushing ahead with strengthening the functions of U.S. bases in Japan and promised to introduce the documents he received from Iha in the Diet discussions.
- Akahata, October 24, 2007