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U.S.military bases in Japan Issue

会話

About U.S. military bases in Japan

横田基地
US Air Force aircraft taking off from Yokota base in Japan (May 5, 2015)
By U.S. Pacific Command[CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] Nepal relief airlift expands with deployment of Yokota aircraft
  • There are 134 US military bases in total in Japan.
  • Especially Okinawa Prefecture is in the upper rank in all items such as the number of bases, the area, the ratio occupied by bases.
  • This is the main reason that Okinawa Prefecture was ruled by the United States from 1945 to 1972.

Japan has issue

What is regarded as a issue in Japan is to relocate Futenma Base located in Okinawa Prefecture to the land called Henoko in the prefecture.
(The position of Futenma is in the red circle of the photo, Henoko is in the blue circle)

辺野古地図

The background of such issues in the first place is that Henoko was chosen as a place for construction of alternative facilities through integration of the US military bases in Okinawa according to the "US girl violent case" that occurred in September 1995.

Recent US Army in Japan
There are not a few cases where soldiers of the US Army in Japan cause incidents or accidents. He has caused various incidents such as robbery, property damage, and rape. Many things related to human life, such as car accidents and crashes of planes, are caused in accidents. On December 17, 2016, the accident happened that the US Marine Corps' new model MV22 Osprey landed off Nago City, Okinawa Prefecture, and was destroyed.

Opinion of Japanese government Pros

  • Regarding the fact that US military bases are concentrated in Okinawa Prefecture, we take heavily on the burden imposed on all Okinawa citizens.
  • We will do all the burden reductions that the government side can do, such as removing the danger of Futenma Air Station.
  • However, considering protecting Japanese citizens including Okinawa citizens and maintaining deterrence of the Japan-US Alliance, Henoko relocation is the best solution.

Opinion of Okinawa prefecture Cons

  • It is inevitable that if the US military bases concentrate in Okinawa Prefecture where even the area is small, the prefectural people's life and prefecture's promotion development will be affected.
  • Even if it is contracted and repaired, it is only reduced by 0.7%, and the reduction of the base burden can`t be felt.
  • It should be borne by the people, because the issue of US military bases is a matter of Japan's security.
  • Due to the outcome of the election, since the public opinion shows opposition, building a new base in Henoko is difficult.

Opinion of U.S.

Pro
  • They think that it is possible to reduce the risk of aviation accidents etc in Ginowan city.
Cons
  • It does not solve the problem of base fragility (weak and fragile nature), so it will not be a long-term solution.
  • Many Okinawa citizens cannot proceed forcefully against policies opposed by citizens.
  • Military bases cannot perform adequately in places where neighboring residents are opposing.
会話

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