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Okinawa base deal faces opposition

P. S. Suryanarayana

Okinawa Governor has expressed dissatisfaction over the accord between Tokyo and Washington

SINGAPORE: As Japan and the United States braced themselves to finalise a new "realignment" of the American military forces in the Japanese theatre, the Governor of Okinawa, Keiizi Inamine, has expressed discontent over their deal-in-the-making. A key issue that Japan and the U.S. intend to blueprint is "the outline of the realignment" of the American forces in the new context of the "Common Strategic Objectives" that the two sides had agreed upon several months ago.

From the Japanese Government's perspective, a prime issue is how a continued American military presence in Okinawa could be made acceptable to the people there.

On Thursday, the Okinawa Governor is reported to have expressed dissatisfaction over the latest accord between Tokyo and Washington to re-locate the Futenma air-facility of the United States within Okinawa itself. The people of Okinawa have long wanted this to be shifted out of their neighbourhood. Anticipating such opposition, the Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, said on Wednesday while announcing the new accord with the U.S., that the details being worked out now were still not final.

If the Japanese Parliament (Diet) were to give the go-ahead nod, Tokyo and Washington would firm up not only the blueprint for "realignment" but also the "roles, missions and capabilities" of the military units of the two countries to achieve "Common Strategic Objectives". These "objectives," which identify Taiwan as a "common" concern, have drawn firm opposition from China.

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