The SDP is part of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s ruling coalition which also includes the Democratic Party and the People’s New Party.
The U.S. and Japan are expected to discuss their 2006 Bases Realignment and Closure Agreement, or BRAC, in which the relocation of Futenma Airbase out of Japan will be one of the major issues.
Hatoyama made a self-imposed deadline to find a new site for Futenma by the end of May.
The current agreement calls for the relocation of Futenma from Okinawa’s Ginowan City to Camp Schwab and the coastal area of Henoko within the prefecture by 2014.
By 2014, about 8,000 American troops will relocate from Okinawa to Guam.
Okinawans also want Futenma out of their island because of security and environmental issues.
Ginowan City where Futenma is currently located has a population of 90,000 people. Based on the 1992 Futenma master plan, there are 18 public facilities including an elementary school and a child center, 800 private homes and 3,600 residents living closely within the air base.
According to Ginowan City Mayor Yoichi Iha, one plane flies from the base every five minutes.
“The government of Ginowan, in order to get a clearer view of who and what will be relocated to Guam, would request that the United States government release more precise information on the Marine relocation plan from Okinawa to Guam,” Iha said in his written statement.
Takamine Zenshin, speaker of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly in Japan, and Rep. Teruya Kantoku who chairs the Diet Affairs Council and the SDP’s project team leader on Okinawa military base issue, were welcomed on Saipan by CNMI Speaker Froilan C. Tenorio on Saturday morning.
The two were accompanied by Morihara Hideki, secretary for policy/legislative affairs to Rep. Hattori Ryoichi and Nozaki Satoshi, deputy secretary general, policy-making board of the SDP.
The group then proceeded to Tinian and held a public meeting on Sunday about the Futenma issue.
Following the meeting, Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, said it’s very important for the CNMI to express its intention to welcome Futenma because the negotiation will soon begin.
He said the people of Tinian have been waiting for military-related activities on their island for over three decades and the opportunity presents itself now.
“I support the proposal to relocate Futenma to Tinian. Tinian has been waiting for this for over 30 years now,” he said.
SDP and Futenma
The SDP said its clout in the Japanese Diet may be small but it remains influential because of its stand on issues like Futenma.
“The problems related to the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station at Futenma also need to be addressed. Public opposition to the Futenma Air Station may spread to other 32 U.S. bases in Okinawa and the 85 others throughout Japan. It may also affect the cooperation between the U.S. and Japanese governments in the construction of bases in Guam,” the SDP said in its position paper.
In an interview after the public meeting, Kantoku said they will prepare a report about their findings on Tinian and will present it to Hatoyama.
Kantoku, a lawyer by profession, was born on Saipan in a concentration camp in 1946.
After the end of World War II, his family moved back to Okinawa.
He said his parents also came to Tinian to work.
“I’ve always heard many things about Saipan and Tinian as I grew up,” the visiting Japanese lawmaker told the Variety and stressed that he’s happy to finally see the islands again.
He said he’s glad that Tinian welcomes Futenma.
“First and foremost, I would like to express to the Japanese government that the municipal council and political representatives as well as the people of Tinian have very strongly expressed their desire to see the relocation of the military individuals here to the island of Tinian and that they very much welcome that,” Kantuko said through interpreter Jim Davis.
Asked what Japan can pledge to Tinian if Futenma is finally brought here, Kantuko said: “That would of course be a joint effort…that would be decided by the U.S. and Japanese governments. And they would have to take a look and determine and decide what kind of structural and infrastructure would be done here.”
In a separate interview, Zenshin said Tinian plays a pivotal role because many other parts of Japan don’t want Futenma.
“It is my intention to express to the Japanese government considering the fact that this has been proposed to many other Japanese communities to receive the Futenma but there has been no positive response,” he said.
“But here on Tinian, the people have overwhelmingly expressed that they are willing to welcome the military influx and we believe that is the most beneficial thing for everyone. The people of Tinian, the people of Japan and the U.S. government. We are very grateful to the people of Tinian,” he added.
“We are very serious in relocating Futenma out of Japan. Japanese people are also opposed to foreign forces in their country that have been there for so long,” said Hideki who speaks fluent English.
