Okinawa Assembly demands return of Futenma Base with no transfer option

Japan Press Weekly

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

Okinawa Assembly demands return of Futenma Base with no transfer option

The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly in its plenary session on February 24 unanimously approved a resolution demanding that the U.S. Marines Futenma Air Station be immediately closed and returned, with no transfer of it to another location within the prefecture. The resolution has been sent to Prime Minister Hatoyama.

The resolution pointed out that the the base could cause damage in vast areas and that the possibility of danger is extremely high.

As regards the Henoko district off Nago City, a candidate site for the transfer of the base, the resolution refers to it as “a beautiful sea area with no parallel in the world.” It emphasized that the Nago mayor is opposed to constructing a base either on sea or land in the Henoko district.

Speaking in support of the resolution, Japanese Communist Party assembly member Maeda Masaaki stated that the key is for Okinawans to be united in demanding that the base be returned without relocation to another site. He said that the suffering of residents from a military base will be the same even if it is transferred elsewhere in Okinawa or to the Japan mainland. He stressed that any return of the base on the condition of a transfer does not solve the problem and instead would perpetuate the existence of bases.

- Akahata, February 25, 2010