The U.S. and Japan Must Reach an Agreement about the Marine Corps Forces Reduction Plan

Until now, U.S. political power has allowed the Marine Corps to continue operating without reducing their numbers, but the financial burden has finally become too much to bear.

In response to the reduction in national defense spending, the three branches of the Marine Expeditionary Force, one of which is located in Okinawa, will be reduced to two. This shows that economic difficulty is forcing the U.S. Marine Corps to undergo significant restructuring, and large-scale personnel cuts will be unavoidable. This could be a big turning point for Okinawa as it looks to lighten the heavy burden placed on it by the military bases. As the U.S. government implements the MEF reduction plan, a drastic drop in Marine Corps-related incidents should be seen immediately.

The U.S. Marine Corps has the MEF headquarters placed in three locations — on the U.S. West Coast in the state of California, in the U.S. South in the state of North Carolina and in Uruma City in Okinawa Prefecture. According to the restructuring plan, the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force in North Carolina will be abolished and merged with the Marines Corps Command Unit in the state of Virginia. The 2MEF will then operate independently as the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, a mid-ranged unit that currently operates under the jurisdiction of the same command center.

Major General McKenzie, the officer who made the MEF reduction plan public, said that the 3rd Military Expeditionary Brigade, which operates under the jurisdiction of Okinawa’s 3rd Military Expeditionary Force, should have an independent command center after restructuring. He suggested that there is a possibility the Marine forces in Okinawa will be reorganized.

The question of withdrawing the Marine Corps in Okinawa to the U.S. or moving them to Australia has been discussed many times before among security experts and leading members of the U.S. Congress.

In April of this year, the RAND Corporation, a think tank that has power to influence U.S. military strategy, released a report concerning U.S. bases abroad. It concluded that even if all Marine Corps personnel — with the exception of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, which numbers approximately 2,000 — were moved back to the U.S., it would have minimal impact on the military’s capacity for development.

The 31MEU stresses the importance of rescue missions and humanitarian aid for Americans living in Japan in times of trouble or natural disaster. The unit spends about half of the year deployed offshore with helicopters from Futenma Air Station, and the period when they are actually stationed in the prefecture is short.

If the RAND Corporation’s proposal is put into effect, a complete review of the plan to relocate the Futenma Air Station would be inevitable, and it goes without saying that a new facility in Nago City or anywhere else would be unnecessary. Put another way, the proposal essentially says that nuclear deterrence and other alleged advantages of having troops stationed in Okinawa are a complete illusion.

The problems surrounding the Futenma Air Station would be solved by the significant reduction of U.S. forces in Okinawa. The Japanese government needs to appeal to the U.S. government to resolve these issues and move forward.