Japan Press Weekly

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2023 August 9 - 15 [US FORCES]

VFP Okinawa seeks solutions to PFAS contamination issue

Veterans for Peace (VFP) Ryukyu/Okinawa Chapter International at a press conference in the Okinawa prefectural government office on August 9 announced that they have submitted to the VFP Convention (Aug. 25-27) a draft resolution calling for solving problems pertaining to PFAS contamination in areas surrounding U.S. bases in Okinawa.

Their draft resolution points out that high levels of PFAS have been detected near U.S. military facilities in Okinawa and that Okinawa's water-bearing strata have probably been heavily affected by PFAS-contaminated water as it flows into local waterways.

The draft says that the U.S. military should allow the Okinawa prefectural government to conduct on-site surveys in U.S. military installations and should decontaminate PFAS pollution sites in Okinawa. In addition, it demands that the U.S. government compensate for the expenses borne by the Okinawan government and Okinawans for restoration.

Douglas Lummis, the head of the VFP local and a former U.S. marine, said that to identify where PFAS substances come from is certainly necessary, and criticized the U.S. Forces Japan for continuing to refuse on-site investigations.

Lummis said that removal of PFAS will benefit both Okinawans and the U.S. military and so U.S. cooperation stands to reason. Noting that PFAS contamination has become an issue in the United States as well, he said he hopes that the VFP Convention will adopt and approve the draft resolution and will work to help resolve the problems pertaining to PFAS contamination.

Past related article:
> Japan-US SOFA hampers Okinawa's PFAS investigation [March 4, 2023]