[Site Fwd] A Henoko base is not necessary - a Nihon TV Interview with Mayor of Ginowan (English Translation)

* Text informed at Peace Philosophy Center on Dec. 27, 2009

Saturday, December 26, 2009

A Henoko base is not necessary - a Nihon TV Interview
with Mayor of Ginowan (English Translation)

Yoichi Iha, Mayor of Ginowan, appeared in "News 24" of Nihon TV (Nittere) on December 11, 2009. The full text of the interview has been transcribed and translated into English by Peace Philosophy Centre. The Japanese version is here. 日本語版はここです。

(For simplicity and clarity purposes, some of the questions by the interviewer have been omitted or integrated into the answers by Mayor Iha. )

English translation of the Interview with

the Ginowan City Mayor Iha Yoichi

News 24, Nihon TV, aired on December 11, 2009

• Question: As the mayor of Ginowan City, you have to deal with the Futenma Marine Corps Air Station. As mayor you have advocated that the Futenma Base is the world’s most dangerous base and that it should be removed from Ginowan. But you have advocated for the complete removal of the Futenma Base from Okinawa Prefecture, and move it all to Guam. What have you discussed with Tokyo, in regards to this matter?

Iha: I met with the Parliamentary Secretary for Defense Nagashima Akihisa, and I also met with the Vice-Ministers for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cabinet Office, and I have made my demands. The Futenma problem has really become a problem for the government, but we have mainly focused on the issue of whether or not to move the base to Henoko, in Okinawa. However, the US government has already been writing up plans to move the Futenma Marines to Guam, and the Japanese government has spent $6 billion to help fund the plans.

Regardless of this, the Japanese people, parliament, and the people of Okinawa have never been given a proper explanation of the plans. In the US, a report on the environmental impact of the relocation of the base to Guam has been made public; I want this report to be explained in detail in Japan. I want to request that the problems surrounding Henoko and US bases within Okinawa Prefecture be reviewed. I want to ask why a base is still required in Henoko when most of the Marines in Okinawa are being relocated to Guam, and the Futenma Base itself is going to be moved to Guam.

• Question: Is a complete relocation to Guam possible? Defense Minister Kitazawa has stated that a complete relocation of facilities to Guam would be impossible; this is different from what you have been advocating. What do you think about the Defense Minister’s comments?

Iha: In the “Roadmap” agreement between the US and Japan (United States-Japan Roadmap for Realignment Implementation), in June of 2006, Futenma’s air capabilities were to be relocated to Henoko, but there was no agreement on relocating the Marine units in Futenma to Henoko. However, just half a year before that agreement was reached, until October of 2005, the agreement (U.S.-Japan Alliance: Transformation and Realignment of for the Future) was that the Marine units would also be relocated to Henoko. But in May of 2006, the US Department of Defense changed their plan and decided that all Marine units in Okinawa would be relocated to Guam.

It is public knowledge that 8,000 Marines will be relocated to Guam from Okinawa, and 9000 of their family members will also be moved to Guam. But the number of the family members is less than 9,000. It is said that it is actually less than 8,000. .

The Japanese government has agreed to build homes for 9,000 family members in Guam. Ultimately the Marine units that will be relocated to Guam will be met with more Marine units from around the world. In the end there will be 10,600 marines going to Guam.

• Question: Is Defense Minister Kitazawa wrong in that sense?

Iha: What Mr. Kitazawa is saying is about moving Futenma’s air facilities to Guam, and how this does not match with the previous US-Japan agreement. Under the current US-Japan agreement, Futenma’s replacement facilities were to be built in Henoko, but we are not talking about the Marine units when we talk about Henoko, but the airbase facilities.

In regards to moving the airbase however, building a new airbase in Henoko and building a new airbase in Guam are two completely different stories. There are already two airbases in Guam, so it should be impossible to build another. But the reason behind wanting to build an airbase in Henoko was because the first agreement had decided that the Marine units would also be moved to Henoko that is why we agreed to build a new base in Henoko.

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