Japan Press Weekly

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2014 October 15 - 21 [US FORCES]

US wants its airspace over Okinawa to be expanded for F-35s

The U.S. Marine Corps is aspiring to obtaining increased access to airspace provided by the Japanese government over U.S. Camp Schwab and Camp Hansen in Okinawa, commonly known as the Central Training Area, for the introduction of F-35 stealth fighter jets.

During a meeting of the Lower House Committee on Foreign Affairs on October 15, Japanese Communist Party representative Kasai Akira said that an expansion of the restricted airspace will contradict the government claim of creating a reduction in Okinawa’s base burdens.

Exhibiting the U.S. Marine Corps Installations Pacific “Strategic Vision 2025”, he asked for the government response.

The Strategic Vision states that a redesign of airspace over the Central Training Area in order “to raise the vertical limit of the restricted airspace” associated with the construction of a new base in Henoko “will provide additional vertical airspace to contain the effects of small arms training which will allow for improved training”.

The JCP lawmaker asked “Do you happen to have already launched consultations with the U.S. counterpart in this regard?” Director-General of the foreign ministry’s North American Affairs Bureau Tomita Koji said in response, “We are consulting with the United States from various angles”, but claimed that he cannot go into details.

Kasai said that an expansion of the restricted airspace will not ease the base-linked burden on Okinawa but will lead to the strengthening of base functions, which calls into question Japan’s sovereignty. He again expressed opposition to the Henoko base construction with which the Abe government is pushing ahead on the pretext of alleviating Okinawa’s base burdens.