Secretary Gates Visits Japan; Futenma Issue Postponement Is Irresponsible

Secretary Gates met successively with Prime Minister Kan Naoto, Foreign Minister Maehara Seiji, and Defense Minister Kitazawa Toshimi ahead of the Prime Minister’s scheduled visit to the U.S. this spring to deepen the Japan-U.S. alliance.

However, it is disappointing that there was no progress on the fractious issue of moving the Futenma Air Station, aside from an affirmation of the agreement reached last May.

As the People’s Liberation Army Navy of China [the naval branch of the People’s Liberation Army] increasingly operates in open oceans and North Korea engages in more provocative behavior, reconfirming the U.S.-Japan alliance becomes crucial. The conclusion to the Futenma issue directly affects the efficacy of the Japan-U.S. alliance. Prime Minister Kan must stop focusing his efforts on the shape of the upcoming U.S. visit and stop the trivialization of the mutual security system.

To lessen the burden placed on Okinawa prefecture, the U.S. agreed at the Defense Ministerial talks to move F-15 exercises from Okinawa to Guam. There was also an agreement to provide sea-based interceptor missiles, currently being developed by the U.S. and Japan, to a third country.

The parties agreed that closer cooperation among the U.S., Japan and Korea is necessary in light of the North Korean issue. It was also recognized that it is necessary to re-evaluate mutual strategic concerns between the three countries. Closer trilateral cooperation is logical given both countries’ alliances with the U.S.

However, the problem is that the process of reorganizing U.S. forces in Japan, which serves as a regional deterrent, is not progressing.

　

The Futenma relocation issue is one and the same with the Guam Marine relocation and return of U.S. bases in Southern Okinawa. Regardless of the original plan’s optimal weighing of lessening local burden and the strengthening of regional deterrence, straying under DPJ administration has made completion of the process within the schedule very difficult.

　

The reason for Secretary Gates’ visit to be limited to merely an affirmation of U.S.-Japan agreement on Futenma relocation is likely due to the U.S. Congress limiting the Guam relocation budget seeing Japan’s political state.

However, the primary actor that can advance the relocation process is Japan. Is the government even thinking about the creation of a special administrative zone which takes into account local concerns?

　

Although Prime Minister Kan again claimed he does not intend to go over the deadline, Japan’s peace and security cannot be secured by taking advantage of America’s political circumstances and postponing a conclusion to the Futenma issue. So that the upcoming U.S. visit is not just a hollow gesture, the prime minister, foreign minister, and defense minister must re-examine their basic understanding of the issue at hand.