Japan stymied on US base in Okinawa as deadline nears

The US-Japan security alliance rests on two pillars: Washington agrees to defend Japan against aggression and help maintain stability in its neighborhood, while Japan agrees to provide bases for US forces doing that job.

If the helicopters now operating out of Futenma were not to find a new base in Japan, and if the troops they must train with were to follow them elsewhere, one pillar of the alliance would crumble.

“This is not about local political issues, it’s a strategic issue – regional security and the health and future of the alliance,” says Stalder.

In Japan, a political issue

Susumu Inamine would beg to differ. In January he won election as mayor of Nago – which has jurisdiction over Henoko – after campaigning against any new US helicopter base.

“The negatives, the environmental destruction, the noise, the danger, outweigh any economic benefits” that a new base might bring, says Mr. Inamine. “Our position is not going to change; we oppose the idea."

So does the Okinawa Prefecture Assembly, which unanimously passed a motion last week opposing the Henoko plan.

Peace activists who successfully blocked the construction of a planned offshore landing strip five years ago, by physically challenging construction workers, say they are equally determined to stymie any new project, which they say is too expensive and too damaging to the wildlife in the bay off Henoko.

“The democratic voice of the people should be respected,” says Hiroshi Ashitomi, cochairman of the Conference Opposing Heliport Construction,” which has organized a beachside sit-in that has lasted six years.

“If they ignore Okinawan voices, they will get payback,” Mr. Ashitomi adds. “We will fight any construction.”

The DPJ’s junior coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party, has threatened to withdraw from the government if Hatoyama presses ahead with the Henoko plan. The prime minister, however, does not rely on the SDP for a parliamentary majority and is expected to risk a desertion.

The government appears to have discarded the current plan to relocate Futenma, which foresees twin runways extending into the sea from a promontory just outside Henoko. Instead, officials say, they are proposing a shorter airstrip on land. “The bottom line is to ensure that the marine environment is not destroyed,” explains the senior government official.

It is doubtful, however, that such an alternative will be acceptable to the US side. At an earlier stage of the protracted negotiations over a replacement facility for Futenma, the Marines rejected a short onshore runway for operational and safety reasons.

That would appear to leave the situation as intractable as ever, and the American side increasingly impatient.

“The current plan is the best plan, and it was reached after years of consultation,” says Stalder. “We’ve got to get after it.”

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