The Osprey Deployment Transmission: No Choice but to Protect Life on Base

On June 6, the Okinawa Defense Department formally relayed to the prefecture and local government that the U.S. Marine Corps had 2010 plans to deploy the MV22 Osprey vertical take-off and landing aircraft from the Futenma air base. Starting in the development phase, plane crashes have happened repeatedly; the deployment of this new American warplane, which has frequently been identified as having dangerous machinery, is a step backward for the government in dealing with the reduction of the Okinawa base. It is natural that groups such as the prefecture and local government greatly oppose this plan as “neglect of our home area” and will refuse to approve it.

In the development stage, the Osprey crashed four times, killing 30 people. Last April, it crashed in Afghanistan because of engine trouble; four American military personnel died and a great number were wounded. In January of this year, the U.S. Department of Defense identified Osprey engine and aviation control system defects in its summarized reports. In addition to technical problems, noise was also viewed as a problem; within the U.S., there was an incident of training being suspended because of citizen opposition.

That the Japanese government quite willingly accepted the Osprey deployment with its many problems is nothing short of betrayal and deception of the citizens of the prefecture and nation.

A draft of the 1996 U.S.-Japan Special Action Committee on Okinawa report included the Osprey deployment, but Japan, fearing the Okinawan opposition’s anger, opposed the measure and eliminated the deployment from the final report. With the uncovering of the 2010 deployment plans, it became apparent that U.S. and Japanese leaders had formed an agreement without the input of the Japanese people. If the Japanese government has any sense of responsibility or duty towards protecting its citizens’ lives and property, it should insist that America cancel the deployment.

Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa says of policies concerning the deployment plan, “We acknowledge the plan, but there is not an official report from the American side.” The Japanese government has not provided locals with a concrete explanation. The prefecture has strong misgivings about the plan’s safety; as the danger grows, they have consistently opposed the plan, but there’s no evidence that Japanese leaders are opposing the U.S. position by tackling the problem in Okinawa.

The citizens’ safety has been made secondary, and it is outrageous that the Japanese government intentionally postpones facing the problem while examining America’s countenance. In a transmission to the local area, since the deployment is imminent within the next year and can’t be covered up now, the Japanese government simply continues to deny it.

Deployment of the defective Osprey from the Futenma air base is not a sane idea for the surrounding town, which, according to the plan, will become a warplane development testing site and expose its residents’ lives to danger. Futenma must be closed or removed to guarantee the people’s safety.