Japan to Reconvene Okinawa Policy Council on Nov. 6, First Time in 13 Years, to Discuss Easing the U.S. Base Burden
Tokyo — Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara announced at a press conference on November 2 that the Japanese government will convene the Okinawa Policy Council on November 6, bringing cabinet ministers together with the governor of Okinawa Prefecture to discuss easing the burden of U.S. military bases and measures to promote the prefecture's economy. It will be the council's first meeting since 2013, a gap of about 13 years.
The council was established in 1996 under Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and consists of all cabinet ministers other than the prime minister, together with the Okinawa governor. It last met in 2013 under Governor Hirokazu Nakaima and was never convened during the terms of Governors Takeshi Onaga and Denny Tamaki. In September's gubernatorial election, Genta Koja, backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, won office, returning the prefectural government to the LDP camp after 12 years. Koja had campaigned on reviving the council and formally requested its early convening when he met Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Kihara at the prime minister's office on October 7.
Kihara told reporters that coordination with the prefecture is essential to advancing Okinawa policy, saying the government would promote Okinawa's development comprehensively and proactively as a national strategy while also working steadily to reduce the base burden. He said Takaichi's attendance at the November 6 meeting was still being arranged. Koja, for his part, told the media he intends to ask the central government to set a clear date for the return of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
The agenda is also expected to include the size of the Okinawa promotion budget, which stood at about 300 billion yen a year from fiscal 2013 to 2021 before being cut to about 260 billion yen for fiscal 2022 through 2026; whether it is increased is among the prefecture's top concerns. The relocation of Futenma to Henoko in Nago City and questions of discipline and public safety following recent criminal cases involving U.S. service members in Okinawa may also be discussed.
Okinawa, with less than 1 percent of Japan's land area, hosts about 70 percent of the facilities exclusively used by U.S. forces in Japan, and the base burden has long been the central friction between Tokyo and Okinawa. The council's revival after 13 years is seen as an early test of relations between the Takaichi government and the new, Tokyo-friendly prefectural administration.
(Source: Jiji Press)
Source: Jiji Press
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于冲绳县宜野湾市市区内的美军普天间海军陆战队航空站航拍（资料图）。CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Aerial view of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture (file photo). CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
