The Prime Minister Has No Option But to Make His Visit a Frontal Attack on the Problems in Okinawa

After six months, Prime Minister Naoto Kan has made a visit to Okinawa to have a conference with the Okinawan prefectural governor, Hirokazu Nakaima. He also went there to get a grasp on what is actually going on with the U.S. Army bases by inspecting the Futenma and Kadena Air Bases.

The previous prime minister, Hatoyama Yukio, broke his public promise that he would “at worst, move the base out of the prefecture,” and with the agreement made between the U.S. and Japan to relocate the Futenma Air Base to the village of Henoko in Nago City, there is a concrete distrust of Okinawa’s democratic administration.

The visit by the prime minister this time around is a belated one, but his cabinet is aiming to reconstruct the bond of trust with Okinawa and take the first step toward the prime minister and the Okinawan government facing and talking to one another in earnest about the various problems that Okinawa has.

Be that as it may, the process of reconstructing their relationship is going to be a rough one.

Regarding the relocation of Futenma, the prime minister is requesting Nakaima to reconsider the plan of relocating it to Henoko, saying it may not be the best option, but it is a “better option.”

However, he has not given a full explanation as to why it would be better to move the base to Henoko. The citizens of Okinawa will not be convinced one bit, just by him trying to explain how things got this way and the international circumstances of it all. Discussions with Nakaima, who made a public promise to move the base out of the prefecture because of the prefectural elections, will no doubt end as they began.

The governor criticized the prime minister’s better proposal of relocating to Henoko, saying that “having the base in any prefecture is going to be a bad idea,” and requested that he take another look at his agreement with the U.S.

Meanwhile, regarding the lump-sum grants that are being introduced into next year’s fiscal budget, the prime minister reported that they will be treating Okinawa with special favor, planning to allocate them at least 25 billion yen. He has also promised to replace the Okinawa Special Measures Promotion Act with the passing of a new law and legislation to facilitate the use of the base site once it has been restored.

Even after the Battle of Okinawa, when the U.S. armed forces rule returned, they continued to be a burden on Okinawa by setting up base there. There are no objections that it was crucial to keep a close eye on Okinawa in order to lessen the gap between them (Okinawa) and mainland Japan, the mainland having its roots in the historical sequence of events.

However, the prime minister should probably think again if he hopes to have some sway and change the governor’s mind by merely offering measures for promoting Okinawa.

No longer will Okinawa bear the burden of that base because of some American measures for promotion. Since last year’s general elections, if you take a look at the results of Nago’s mayoral and council elections and the previous prefectoral elections, it is clear how strongly the people of Okinawa feel.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku previously invited strong revolt from the locals when he said in a speech that he “wants Okinawa to abide” the burden of the base.

Okinawa was asked about the idea that Yamato pushed an excessive amount of the burden of the base on them and whether it was to ensure the safety of all Japan or to deepen the alliance between the U.S. and Japan.

As I suspected, the only way for them to get back the trust of Okinawa is to tackle things full on and reduce the burden of the base on them.

Also included in the agreement between Japan and the U.S. is relocating some of the U.S. Army’s training to outside the prefecture and outside the country. The first priority is to allow the people of the prefecture to actually feel that the burden of the base is being reduced.

Part of the Marine Corps that was set to be relocated to Henoko will now be relocated to Guam and South Kadena. I think discussing with America whether this can be implemented without any involvement of Henoko in its relocation is worth sufficient consideration.

Moreover, along with great diplomatic efforts to stabilize the situation in East Asia, the key to this lies in how they can continue reducing the burden of the air base on Okinawa and whether they will be able to come up with any medium-term plans.