Japan Press Weekly

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2016 July 27 - August 2 [POLITICS]

Defense Minister to US Commander: I’ll work hard to get US helipads in Takae built

Defense Minister Nakatani Gen on July 25 met with Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command Harry B. Harris in the ministry office building and expressed his resolve to complete the planned U.S. military facilities in Okinawa.

In defiance of mounting local opposition, Nakatani told Harris that he will “work hard” to promote the construction of a U.S. base in the Henoko district in Nago City and of U.S. helipads in the Takae district in Higashi Village. In response, Harris said that the U.S. government will work together with its Japanese counterpart on the issue.

The two also confirmed that based on the Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation Guidelines which was revised in April 2015, Tokyo and Washington will map out new joint military operations using the Alliance Coordination Mechanism (ACM), a de facto “joint headquarters” of the two allies.

Past related article:
> Gov. Onaga condemns Tokyo for restarting US military helipad construction in Okinawa [July 15, 2016]