Okinawa legislature adopts unanimous petition demanding immediate removal of US F-22A fighters

Japan Press Weekly

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

Okinawa legislature adopts unanimous petition demanding immediate removal of US F-22A fighters

The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly on July 9 unanimously adopted the petition demanding an immediate removal of the state-of-the-art U.S. F-22A Raptor stealth fighter jets from the U.S. Kadena Air Force Base.

F-22A Raptors are being temporarily deployed to the Kadena base for four months from June for the second time, the first being for four months since January.

Local governments and residents are afraid that repeated temporary deployments of F-22As might be part of a plan for their permanent deployment there.

Referring to the fact that at the Kadena base, F-22As repeatedly carry out joint exercises with F-15 fighter jets deployed at the Kadena base, F/A-18 Hornet fighters from the U.S. Marine Corps Iwakuni Air Station in Yamaguchi Prefecture, and F-15 fighter jets from the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force base, and that due to repeated joint exercises, many residents cannot sleep due to the excessive noise. In addition to their immediate removal, the petition calls for cancellation of joint exercises with jet fighters from other military bases and prohibition of exercises after midnight.

- Akahata, July 10, 2009