Iha runs for Okinawan governor to block US base construction

Japan Press Weekly

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Iha runs for Okinawan governor to block US base construction

Iha Yoichi, a firm opponent of the new U.S. base construction in Okinawa, is running in Okinawa's gubernatorial election with the support of the Japanese Communist, Social Democratic, and Okinawa Social Mass parties. The following is an Akahata interview with Iha who calls for a base-free Okinawa in his election campaign.

-- What made you decide to run in the election?

‘I will not change'

The current prefectural government of the Liberal Democratic and Komei parties does not have a stance to grapple with Okinawa's base issues. The past progressive prefectural governments had taken the initiative in solving the issues. They had sent their governors to the United States almost every year and proactively expressed their position at every occasion. However, for the last 12 years, the local governments led by governor Inamine Keiichi and his follower Nakaima Hirokazu have acted as if the base issues are something that the national government should deal with and are not their responsibility.

Incumbent Governor Nakaima, who accepted the relocation of the U.S. Futenma base (in Ginowan City) within Okinawa, has recently started calling for the base to be moved outside the prefecture. But the reason Nakaima has given for this change is the national government's failure to explain the grounds of its decision to transfer the Futenma base to Henoko (in Nago City). I was shocked to realize his lack of independence and sense of responsibility as the head of the prefectural government.

On the other hand, I have consistently insisted that the base issues are Okinawa's issues and that we have to solve them under our own initiative.

Opposition to the relocation of the Futenma base within the prefecture is Okinawan consensus shown by nearly 90,000 participants at a rally last April. If I become the governor, I will directly convey the consensus to the Japanese and U.S. governments and devote all the effort of my administration to bring the base issues to a settlement.

I have been working as a prefectural assembly member for seven years during two terms and as the Ginowan City mayor for seven and a half years during two terms as well. During this period of time and even before that, I have never changed my opinion on the local base issues. I will continue to hold on to this position.

-- How can you stick to your position so firmly?

Okinawa still under wartime conditions of outside control

My determination comes from Okinawa's history and its present conditions. U.S. bases in Okinawa are different from the ones on mainland Japan in how they were built. During the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, the U.S. forces took away local residents' land while detaining them in concentration camps. Then in the 1950s, the U.S. Marine Corps moved to Okinawa from the mainland and used "bayonets and bulldozers" to seize residents' land by force to expand their bases.

The administrative rights over Okinawa were returned to Japan on May 15, 1972. However, even after that, the U.S. forces are still using the bases on the land they forcibly seized with legislation provided by the Japanese government. In other words, the wartime condition of external control still continues in Okinawa.

My birthplace is the Kakazu district of Ginowan City, where one of the bloodiest battles had taken place during the Battle of Okinawa. Although I was born after the war ended, I grew up listening to the stories of elders in my neighborhood about their tragic experiences during the war, which had taken the lives of more than half of the local residents.

In my junior-high and high-school years, on the way to schools I watched fighter jets flying overhead during flight exercises or U.S. servicemen coming down with their parachutes. From our classrooms, we could see ground-to-air missiles being launched during military exercises. During the Vietnam War, housing complexes for U.S. military personnel were expanded and built around our residential areas.

Based on such experiences, it is a matter of course for me to reject all actions which lead to wars.

Outstanding actions

-- Your efforts to solve the issue of U.S. bases in Okinawa have been outstanding.

When I took office as Ginowan Mayor in April 2003, the actual extent of noise pollution associated with the U.S. Futenma base was unknown to the public.

I started to analyze and publish noise level data monthly. This highlighted the pattern of flight exercises. For instance, we found that the base produces the highest levels of noise on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and there are yearly over 50 days when excessive noise is heard more than 200 times a day. We also made an"emergency call'' system fully operational. As a result, the severe extent of the noise gradually became apparent to the public.

In addition, I visited the United States three times. Through a number of on-site surveys at other base-hosting municipalities, we realized that the United States has domestic laws which strictly regulate the operation of bases in order to prevent negative effects. I was shocked to know that the situation is so different from that in Japan. Our studies of official U.S. documents taught us that such U.S. standards can also be applied to U.S. bases in Japan, and that Japan and the United States have some agreements such as the "Joint Statement of Environmental Principles," which have been undisclosed as well as unobserved.

Through our efforts to make these findings known to the public, it has become common knowledge both domestically and internationally that the Futenma base is "the most dangerous air station in the world" and its flight operations are illegal.

-- Your stance is totally different from that of the national government and the current Okinawa prefectural government.

We haven't even received any inquiries about the noise issue from the prefectural governor.

Economy and employment

--You also have plenty of achievements and a clear vision in regard to the economy and people's livelihoods.

I aim to achieve a self-reliant economy without U.S. bases.

Regarding this point, an interesting report was published by the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly in September which states that if all the U.S. bases are removed from Okinawa and new industries are set up on the former base sites, the potential economic benefits will amount to about 920 billion yen and 94,000 new jobs can be created.

In fact, about 14,000 new jobs have been created in the Naha New Urban Center, built on a former U.S. base site. Our plan to use the site of the Futenma base after its removal will generate an annual income of about 480 billion yen and create 32,000 jobs.

Furthermore, I will promote an economic plan making use of the strengths of Okinawa such as local industries and tourism. Okinawa is a rare prefecture in Japan with a population that is increasing, so I want to establish conditions for young people to be able to fully utilize their abilities.

Concerning the issue of people's livelihoods, as a prefectural assembly member, I worked in the fields of health, social welfare and education. The current prefectural government, however, has cut expenditures on social welfare and health programs while it has made no attempts to improve the educational environment.

As mayor of Ginowan City, I have increased the sum of the city's settled accounts by 1.8 billion yen and I have never cut expenditures on programs for citizen's livelihoods, social welfare, and education. In fact, I improved these programs. In contrast, the prefectural government introduced into Okinawa the ‘‘structural reform'' policies touted by the former Prime Minister Koizumi. This is based on the law of the jungle and leaves everything to market forces, ending up widening the gap between the rich and the poor.

We began our administration of Ginowan City by examining what programs residents actually need and then considered ways to design and implement them. I am sure that if we can change the stance of the prefectural governor, the top administrator in Okinawa, prefectural officials can fully demonstrate their abilities.

- Akahata, October 25, 2010