F-15 Drills Resume: This Is Where We Draw the Line

The U.S. Air Force resumed flight training of F-15 aircraft on May 30 in Okinawa despite the recent crash, stating that “… All F-15s at Kadena Air Base were tested and confirmed safe …”*

The F-15 crash occurred on May 28, only two days ago. The cause is still unknown. With the accident unexplained and without a thorough explanation to the local residents regarding safety, the drills were resumed simply because of a piece of paper that says, “Inspections complete.” Where do they get the nerve?

In the case of the F-15 crash in January 2006, the U.S. Air Force also resumed drills after two days. Even compared to the Self-Defense Force’s accident response and the Air Force’s reaction to its mainland accident, the response to the incident in Okinawa is inconsiderate.

While stationed in Japan, the troops’ most basic obligations should be learning Japanese culture and customs, as well as making a sincere effort to reduce the anxiety of the local residents in the event of an accident.

At one point, the commanding officer of Kadena Air Base responded to citizen complaints about aircraft noise by asserting that it is “the sound of freedom,” a response that was met with disapproval. In today’s terms, that might mean something like, “We’re doing this to protect Japan from China.”

However, justifying aircraft accidents and the harmful effects of aircraft noise with the base’s objective, as well as disregarding the treatment of the local residents when handling these things, is not acceptable.

The U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) calls for U.S. forces to give “due regard for public safety.” This valuable agreement could regulate the actions of the U.S. forces, but whether Japan will make use of it depends on the Japanese government.

In July 2012, when the Democratic Party of Japan deployed Ospreys to the Futenma Air Station, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda calmly declared, “The deployment is the policy of the U.S. government, and it isn’t a question of what Japan should do.”

Regarding Japan’s relations with the U.S. military, the prime minister himself acknowledged that Japan is still a “half-sovereign nation.”

Because of the SOFA, the U.S. military has exclusive authority over the base and is guaranteed the freedom to use the base however it pleases. For example, low-altitude flying drills, which aren’t permitted by national law, are allowed as an exception.

The fact that about 74 percent of U.S. military facilities are concentrated in Okinawa, combined with its ability to use these facilities however it pleases, produces a heavy burden for Okinawa.

This reality has not changed under the Abe administration. This is where we draw the line.

Nowhere else in the world is there a “base island” like Okinawa. It is highly unusual for an island to be continually subjected to the burden of a base over such a long period of time.

Everyone has the right to live in a quiet, peaceful environment, but right now this right cannot be said to be equally distributed among all Japanese citizens.

This is neither an issue of the “alleviation of Okinawa’s burden,” nor the “preservation of nuclear deterrence.” It’s an issue of how to create a just, impartial and sustainable system that guarantees safety and security.

*Editor’s Note: The original quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified. However, it matches the source site’s paraphrased report on an Air Force public statement.