Japan Press Weekly

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2008 July 23 - 29 [US FORCES]

Okinawan assembly representatives ask governor not to push new U.S. air base plan

Representatives of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly (Takamine Zenshin, chairperson) on July 24 requested Okinawa Governor Nakaima Hirokazu to support the assembly resolution adopted on July 18 to express opposition to the plan to construct a state-of-the-art U.S. air base off the Henoko district of Nago City, Okinawa.

The prefectural assembly group was made up of the six opposition parties/groups in Okinawa, including the Japanese Communist Party. The governing Liberal Democratic and Komei parties declined to take part in the petition.

In talks with the governor, Shinzato Yonekichi, the group’s leader, explained that the latest resolution represents the general will of Okinawans. “You are called upon to make every effort to meet their keen demands that U.S. military bases in Okinawa will not be strengthened and that the new U.S. Marine Corps air base, which will destroy the natural environment, not be constructed,” he emphasized.

Maeda Masaaki from the JCP stated, “More than 70 percent of respondents in opinion surveys answered ‘No’ to the new base plan. You must listen to Okinawans calling for the rare species of dugong near the new base site to be conserved.” He urged the governor to immediately stop supporting the new base plan.

Nakaima reiterated his position on supporting the new air base plan by stating, “I do recognize the importance of the resolution. However, I want to complete the relocation to Nago of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City as soon as possible.”

Assembly members also visited the Foreign Ministry’s Okinawa office, the U.S. Forces’ Okinawa Area Coordinator office, and the U.S. Consulate in Okinawa to explain the prefectural assembly resolution. - Akahata, July 25, 2008