Japan Press Weekly

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2011 June 29 - July 5 [US FORCES]

Base relocation to Henoko is impossible: Okinawa governor

Okinawa Governor Nakaima Hirokazu on June 30 reaffirmed his opposition to the Japan-U.S. governments’ agreement to build a new U.S. base in the Henoko district of Nago City as an alternative to the U.S. Marines Futenma base in Ginowan City.

In answer to a question by Japanese Communist Party representative Maeda Masaaki, the governor stated at a prefectural assembly plenary session, “Without obtaining local consent, it is impossible to carry out the relocation plan.”

Nakaima clearly rejected the integration of Futenma’s functions with the U.S. Kadena Air Base, stating, “Municipalities around Kadena are already forced to endure excessive burdens. A plan to further increase local burdens can never be accepted.”

He also expressed his opposition to another option to relocate the Futenma base to the Aha district of Kunigami Village.

The governor had a prefectural government official state that his government is opposed to the local deployment of vertical take-off and landing aircraft MV-22 Osprey as long as a thorough explanation is not provided for residents having strong concerns over the plan.

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As of the end of June, 10 local assemblies in Okinawa adopted a statement in protest against the “relocation” of the Futenma base to Henoko and the deployment of MV-22 Osprey. They include the assemblies of Naha, Nago, and Ginowan cities.