Ginowan mayor not to oppose accord on Futemma transfer

Japan Policy & Politics, July 26, 1999

NAHA, Japan, July 22 Kyodo

The mayor of a city hosting the U.S. Futemma Air Station said Thursday he cannot oppose the transfer of Futemma's heliport functions within Okinawa prefecture if the prefectural government and residents at a potential transfer site agree to the relocation. Ginowan Mayor Seiko Higa made the remark in response to a request for cooperation for an early relocation by conservative opposition parties in the municipal assembly, including a local chapter of the Liberal Democratic Party. Higa said there was "no change" from his basic stance in the past that relocation within the prefecture would not relieve the excessive burden on the southernmost island prefecture of Okinawa, which hosts about 75% of U.S. military facilities in Japan in terms of land area. At the same time, however, he said he "cannot realistically object to a relocation as head of a local government exposed to the risk of (base-related) accidents if the prefecture and local residents agree to it." Representatives of four opposition groups in the municipal assembly informed Higa the same day they will seek to open an extraordinary session in order to submit a draft resolution for an early decision on the relocation. Japan and the United States agreed in 1996 to close the Futemma base, which is located close to residential areas in Ginowan, in five to seven years on condition that the heliport operations are relocated elsewhere in Okinawa. The agreement is part of bilateral efforts to ease the burden of Okinawa, which is home to about 28,000 of the 47,000 U.S. service personnel stationed in Japan despite having only 0.6% of Japan's total land area.