Japan Press Weekly

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2013 March 27 - April 2 [US FORCES]

Higashi-Fuji residents join forces to block Osprey deployment

Local residents have formed a group to protest against the deployment of Osprey aircraft to the U.S. Marine Corps’ base sitting at the foot of Mt. Fuji.

U.S. Camp Fuji is part of the Ground Self-Defense Force Higashi-Fuji training area that extends through Gotemba City, Susono City, and Oyama Town in Shizuoka Prefecture.
The landowners of the GSDF training site have concluded an agreement with national and local governments on the use of their land by SDF troops.

The U.S. forces’ “environmental review” for the Osprey deployment to Japan plans to have two to six Osprey aircraft conduct flight training exercises two to three days a month, amounting to 500 operations a year.

The residents’ group was established by members of local branches of the Japan Peace Committee, the Article 9 Association, the New Japan Women’s Association, and the Japanese Communist Party, as well as by concerned individuals.

About 120 people took part in the group’s inaugural meeting on March 31 in Gotemba City. An action plan proposed at the meeting includes a signature campaign to oppose the Osprey deployment as well as installment of large signboards that read, “Don’t bring Osprey to Higashi-Fuji!”