2010: Japan Behind the News >> Is a Solution in Sight for the Okinawa Base Relocation Problem?

Cultural News, 2010 August Issue

By Motoaki Kamiura

Translated by Alan Gleason

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which had decided to move the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station at Futenma to the Henoko area of Okinawa, took a beating in the Upper House elections this past July. The winner of the Okinawa seat, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), called for relocating the Futenma operations outside the prefecture or even outside Japan.

It now seems highly unlikely that the U.S. and Japanese governments will reach a decision by the end of August, as they had agreed to, on the specific location and structure of the new facility at Henoko.

However, sources close to the Japanese government say that significant changes are afoot in the government’s approach to the Futenma issue.

The agreement currently in effect states that most command functions for the U.S. Marines in Okinawa will be shifted to Guam, while air and combat units would remain in Okinawa. Now there are signs that this agreement is undergoing a fundamental reassessment.

The new proposal, we are told, calls for sending all Marine combat units in Okinawa to Guam, and keeping only their command center in Okinawa. Under this plan, Guam would serve as the Marines’ troop deployment base, while intelligence and communications operations would be consolidated in Okinawa.

Puzzling though this shift in strategy may seem, militarily it makes good sense. Integrating the Marines’ headquarters with the U.S. Air Force’s Kadena Air Base would improve the overall efficiency of U.S. base operations in Okinawa.

Moreover, moving training and housing facilities to Guam along with the combat units would dramatically reduce the U.S. military burden imposed on Okinawa.

The final decision will not be announced until year’s end as part of the U.S. government’s Global Posture Review GPR), but word has it that American officials have already informed their Japanese counterparts that the new proposal is under study.

This reevaluation of the original plan suggests that the joint statement issued by the two countries on May 28, reaffirming their 2006 agreement to replace Futenma with a base at Henoko, is due for a major revamping.

The U.S.-Japan Roadmap for Realignment Implementation already stipulates the positioning of command centers for the U.S. Army at Camp Zama, the U.S. Air Force at Yokota Air Base, and the U.S. Navy at Yokosuka Naval Base, all located near Tokyo. Placing the Marine Corps command center in Okinawa would ensure that all four branches of the U.S. military would maintain the same level of presence in Japan.

It is worth noting, however, that the U.S. Navy has declared that it will continue to deploy its Seventh Fleet, which includes a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, at Yokosuka in addition to maintaining command and drydock facilities there.

Motoaki Kamiura is a Tokyo-based military analyst. He appears frequently on national television programs.

Alan Gleason is an editor, writer, and Japanese-English translator. He lives in Tokyo.