Japan Press Weekly

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2015 June 17 - 23 [POLITICS]

Gov. Onaga informs Kennedy about Okinawans’ opposition to US base construction

Okinawa Governor Onaga Takeshi on June 19 met with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy for the first time in Tokyo, conveying to her Okinawa’s determined opposition to the construction of a new U.S. military base in the Henoko district of Nago City.

At a press conference after the meeting, Onaga said that he told the ambassador that Okinawans’ overwhelming opposition was clearly shown in the series of elections held last year in all of which anti-U.S. base candidates defeated their pro-base rivals.

According to the governor, Kennedy made no direct mention of the construction issue, while expressing appreciation for Okinawa’s “vital contributions” to the security alliance between Japan and the United States.

In the talks, Onaga pointed to the fact that the U.S. forces have refused the prefectural government’s request to allow it to carry out an environmental assessment at the construction site. He urged the ambassador to work to permit the assessment, saying, “It’s unfair to exclude only the prefecture’s survey boats from the sea area.” The governor again received no direct response to his demand from her.

Later in the day, the U.S. Embassy put out a press release on the meeting. It states that Ambassador Kennedy reiterated that the Henoko base construction project is “the only solution”.

Onaga told reporters that he did not hear the phrase “the only solution” from the ambassador.

Past related article:
> Onaga: Okinawans’ opposition to base construction wins sympathy in US [June 5, 2015]
> US refusal of Okinawa’s request for coral damage survey is ‘unreasonable: Governor Onaga [March 13, 2015]