2016年11月30日水曜日

知事、建設を事実上容認 沖縄・高江の米軍ヘリパッド「苦渋の最たるもの」 オスプレイ反対は堅持 2016/11/29

琉球新報 2016年11月29日 06:30 

Governor suggests reluctant acceptance of helipad construction, remains opposed to Osprey 2016/11/29


Governor suggests reluctant acceptance of helipad construction, remains opposed to Osprey
Governor Takeshi Onaga takes questions from reporters in advance of the two-year anniversary of his inauguration as governor on the afternoon of November 28 at the Prefectural Office.

November 29, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo




On November 28, Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga held an interview with multiple news outlets in advance of the two-year anniversary of his inauguration as governor on December 10. Regarding the plan to return slightly more than half of the U.S. military’s Northern Training Area in Higashi Village and Kunigami Village, the return being conditioned on construction of new U.S. military helipads, Onaga said, “This is the ultimate painful decision. It is difficult to object to the return of roughly four thousand hectares of land,” essentially expressing acceptance of the helipad construction.

Four arrested in Okinawa for obstructing U.S. base transfer work 2016/11/29

The Japan Times: Kyodo Nov 29, 2016 


Four men were arrested Tuesday for obstructing work on moving a major U.S. military base within Okinawa, police said, despite local pressure for it to be shifted outside of the island prefecture.

The four men are suspected of piling around 1,400 concrete blocks at the gate of the U.S. Marine Corps Camp Schwab from Jan. 28 to 30, blocking the passage of vehicles used for construction work, the police said.

The four also allegedly obstructed the movement of trucks hauling construction materials by standing in front of the vehicles, and had other protesters sit on the blocks on Jan. 30.
Camp Schwab is located close to where Japan is building a replacement facility for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

辺野古反対派4人を逮捕 ブロック積み工事妨害の疑い 2016/11/29

琉球新報 2016年11月29日 18:27 

2016年11月28日月曜日

やんばる 基地から守る 緊急シンポ 高江や辺野古の問題指摘 2016/11/27

やんばる 基地から守る 緊急シンポ 高江や辺野古の問題指摘

Naha symposium addresses dangers facing Yambaru from U.S. military in Takae, Henoko, Ie-jima 2016/11/27


Naha symposium addresses dangers facing Yambaru from U.S. military in Takae, Henoko, Ie-jima
Attendees of the symposium listening intently to speakers’ statements on November 26.

November 27, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo


On the evening of November 26, at a youth assembly hall (Okinawa-ken Seinenkaikan Horu) in Naha City, an Okinawan group opposing military base relocation within Okinawa held an urgent symposium on protecting the whole of Yambaru from becoming a danger zone in the Ie-jime, Takae, and Henoko triangle. Two hundred and fifty people attended the symposium. During the panel discussion problems such as helipad construction, Henoko base construction, and Ie-jima landing strip extension were examined from various angles, including construction illegality and environmental destruction.



2016年11月23日水曜日

翁長知事「18%の米軍基地、想像を」 知事会研究会が初会合 2016/11/22

琉球新報 2016年11月22日 06:30 

Onaga encourages other governors to imagine 18% of their prefecture consisting of U.S. bases 2016/11/22


Onaga encourages other governors to imagine 18% of their prefecture consisting of U.S. bases
Governor Takeshi Onaga explains the base issues in Okinawa at a study group of governors from around the country on November 21 at the Prefectural Assembly Hall in Tokyo

November 22, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo



(Tokyo) At an assembly of nationwide governors on November 21, the first meeting of a study group established within the governors’ association with the aim of reducing the burden of U.S. bases on Okinawa was held at the Prefectural Assembly Hall in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward. At the meeting, Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga explained that it is a misunderstanding to think that U.S. bases bring economic and financial wealth, explaining that rather, the bases pose the greatest obstacle to economic development in Okinawa. Onaga explained that 18% of Okinawa Island is used for U.S. bases, and implored the other governors to imagine that 18% of their own prefecture were taken up by bases.

The study group consisted of eleven members, including Saitama Governor Kiyoshi Ueda, who served as chair of the meeting, Kyoto Governor Keiji Yamada, who is chair of the nationwide governors’ association, and Kanagawa Governor Yuji Kuroiwa, who is chair of a liaison council of governors with U.S. bases in their jurisdictions.


2016年11月22日火曜日

最高裁に中立・公正な審理求め 辺野古訴訟、900人が集会 2016/11/21

琉球新報 2016年11月21日 13:23 


「辺野古新基地を造らせないオール沖縄会議」は21日正午から、那覇市の福岡高裁那覇支部前の城岳公園で「最高裁に中立・公正な審理を求める集会」を開いた。主催者発表で900人が参加した。国会議員らやオール沖縄の幹事団体が登壇し、改めて辺野古新基地建設に反対する決意を県内外に発信した。

Nine hundred people gather to demand fair trial from Supreme Court in Henoko lawsuit 2016/11/21

November 21, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

Nine hundred people gather to demand fair trial from Supreme Court in Henoko lawsuit

People gather past noon on November 21 at Jogaku Park, Naha City to demand a neutral and fair trial from the Supreme Court. Participants reaffirm their opposition to base construction in Henoko.


2016年11月19日土曜日

抗議市民を「違法、悪質」 着陸帯工事 国が資料作成、偏見助長も 2016/11/18

琉球新報 2016年11月18日 06:30 


 個人を特定して「悪質で違法」との記述するなど、沖縄への過重な米軍基地負担に反対する市民運動への偏見を助長しかねない内容となっており、防衛局の人権意識が問われそうだ。

ODB produces document calling citizens’ protests to helipad construction “heinous and illegal”

November 18, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo


The Okinawa Defense Bureau (ODB) has made an external informational document publicizing photographs of the citizens opposed to the construction of helipads who have entered land provided to the U.S. military. The distributed document judges the citizens’ behavior as “heinously illegal acts.” A lawyer commented that would be possible for the ODB to indicate damages to the police and request an investigation into the matter. However, the lawyer went on to say that the ODB has gone too far by widely supplying such information at a time when there is general inquiry concerning these citizens’ actions.

飛行差し止め棄却 第2次普天間爆音判決 違憲確認も退ける 2016/11/18

琉球新報 2016年11月18日 06:30 

In second Futenma noise lawsuit, court rejects demand for flight ban, claims of unconstitutionality 2016/11/18

November 18, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo


In second Futenma noise lawsuit, court rejects demand for flight ban, claims of unconstitutionality
 Lawyers representing the plaintiffs hold signs in front of the Okinawa branch of the Naha District Court after the judgement was issued in the second Futenma noise lawsuit on the morning of November 17 in Okinawa City


2016年11月18日金曜日

大浦湾のサンゴ「健全」 海人の会、白化も確認 2016/11/17

琉球新報 2016年11月17日 05:00 

Survey shows coral in Oura is “healthy” with some bleaching

November 17, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo 


Survey shows coral in Oura is “healthy” with some bleaching

 Reef check to monitor the level of coral bleaching. Chibichiriishi of Oura Bay in Nago (Photograph provided by the Nature Conservation Society of Japan).


A group named “The Association for Fishers who Protect and Harness Beautiful Sea” conducted a survey on the coral reef in Oura Bay, Nago City, on November 16. The group consists of those who are involved in fishery and are against the construction of the Henoko base. Together with the director of the National Conservation Society of Japan, Mariko Abe, the group conducted a reef check to monitor the condition of the coral in Oura Bay. Although coral bleaching was observed all over the area, the coral was deemed to be in “healthy” condition.

オスプレイ対象の環境アセスを 沖縄県が33項目の意見書 北部訓練場の過半返還計画で 2016/11/17



琉球新報 2016年11月17日 06:30 


 意見書は15日付。退役軍人による枯れ葉剤使用の証言に言及し「可能な限り『周辺地域』を特定し、ダイオキシン類の概況調査を実施すること」も求めた。

 米軍による訓練履歴や元軍雇用員ら関係者からの聞き取りを取りまとめた調査報告書を速やかに提出することも求めている。


OPG calls for an environmental assessment of Ospreys in NTA land reclamation plan 2016/11/17

November 17, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo


On November 16, the Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) submitted a written statement of opinion to the Okinawa Defense Bureau (ODB) regarding the plans for returning more than half of the Northern Training Area (NTA) back to Higashi and Kunigami Villages. The statement involved 33 demands, such as the thorough removal of contaminated soil and unexploded bombs. It also calls for another Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) specifically on the U.S. Marine Corps transport aircraft MV-22 Osprey, in relation to the U.S. helicopter landing zone, or helipad, currently being built in the NTA. Moreover, one of the demands involves the withdrawal of Ospreys via an early reassignment to prefectures outside of Okinawa. For the OPG to mention the continued operations of U.S. bases while also discussing the plans to return the land back to Okinawa is unprecedented.

2016年11月16日水曜日

「山破壊で海が死ぬ」 反対決意強く漁師・山城さん 2016/11/15

琉球新報 2016年11月15日 10:06 

Fisherman Yamashiro: Destroying the forests will kill the ocean 2016/11/15


Fisherman Yamashiro: Destroying the forests will kill the ocean
With the forest where private helicopters brought down materials in the background, fisherman Yoshikatsu Yamashiro talks about his experience of Okinawa’s base issues on November 14 in Aha, Kunigami Village.

November 15, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo




On November 14, a protest boat took to the sea for the first time in the protest movement against the U.S. military helipads being constructed in Takae. The protest boat was manned by fisherman Yoshikatsu Yamashiro, age 72. Yamashiro waited on the boat for his friends, who landed their kayaks at the mouth of the Ukagawa River and went to join the protests. Shortly past noon, several protesters could be seen from the boat climbing onto the cliffs aiming for the place where materials had been brought in by air. “The ocean is our father. The forest is our mother. If the forest is destroyed, red soil flows to the ocean, and both die,” says Yamashiro, furrowing his brown and looking up at his friends.

Yamashiro has been a fisherman for fifty years. In order to protect the forests, which he considers to be a pair together with the ocean, he is expressing unwavering opposition to the helipad construction.

In 1959, from the second floor of Ishikawa Junior High School, which he was attending, Yamashiro saw a jet plane rapidly approaching, spitting fire, as it crashed into Miyamori Elementary School. He also participated in the Koza Riot. It has now been fifty-seven years since the Miyamori Elementary School accident. “Okinawa has gotten worse since returning to Japan. Before, our enemy was the United States, but now we are facing discrimination from Japan as well,” Yamashiro said with a look of anguish on his face. Even so, he says, “I won’t give up until we win. I will never forget the pain we have suffered.” He turned his face to look straight at the forest. (Yo Kakazu)

2016年11月11日金曜日

工事完了前に判断へ 着陸帯建設差し止め仮処分 北部訓練場 2016/11/10

琉球新報 2016年11月10日 16:11 


 国は本案では、訴えの棄却を求めた。【琉球新報電子版】

英文へ→Temporary injunction from Naha District Court expected before completion of helipad construction in Takae

Temporary injunction from Naha District Court expected before completion of helipad construction in Takae 2016/11/10

November 10, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo 


Temporary injunction from Naha District Court expected before completion of helipad construction in Takae

 Materials and equipment being hauled in through the main gate to the Northern Training Area viewed from the sky in Higashi Village, Takae.

The first oral proceedings and the second hearing of a case brought to the Naha District Court by 31 residents of Takae, Higashi Village, took place on November 10. The case concerns to the construction of helipads in the Northern Training Area that span Higashi and Kunigami Villages. During oral proceedings the 31 residents requested that the Japanese government halt construction, and during the hearing they motioned for a temporary injunction on the case.

石西礁湖 過半死ぬ サンゴ白化97%「極めて深刻」2016/11/10

琉球新報 2016年11月10日 06:30 

Majority of Sekisei shoko coral reef dies with 97 % extremely severely bleached 2016/11/10

November 10, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo

Majority of Sekisei shoko coral reef dies with 97 % extremely severely bleached

Sekisei shoko coral reef covered with bleached coral colonies and dead coral. 


The Ministry of the Environment’s Naha Office announced results from a survey on Sekisei shoko coral reef, one of the largest coral reef in Japan. The reef was being monitored for bleaching due to long-term high water temperatures this summer. The result was made public on November 9. The result shows that 97 percent of the coral reef is bleached, of which 56.7 percent is considered to be “a totally dead colony.” The ministry will conduct another survey in the same area by end of the year, warning “the result is anticipated to be extremely serious with more dead colonies.”

2016年11月5日土曜日

嘉陽宗義さん死去 辺野古反対訴え続け 94歳 2016/11/04

琉球新報 2016年11月4日 07:30 

Icon of Henoko movement Muneyoshi Kayo passes away 2016/11/04 

November 4, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo


Icon of Henoko movement Muneyoshi Kayo passes away

 On December 21, at Henoko, Nago City, Muneyoshi Kayo objected to new base construction in Henoko 

At 8:45 a.m. on November 3, Muneyoshi Kayo, who was a member of sit-in protest group “Inochi wo mamoru kai,” which protests the relocation of the Futenma Air Station to Henoko, Nago, passed away at a hospital in Ginoza Village at the age of 94 due to pneumonia. Kayo was from Henoko, Nago City. The memorial service has not yet been determined. The hearse left the house at 10:45 a.m. on November 5.

2016年11月3日木曜日

環境省、文書不開示 やんばるの世界遺産関連 「米軍の信頼損なう」 2016/11/02

琉球新報 2016年11月2日 11:12 

Ministry of Environment says disclosure of Yambaru world heritage documents would damage relationship of trust with US military 2016/11/02 

November 2, 2016 Ryukyu Shimpo


On November 1, it was learned that the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has decided not to disclose any documents detailing communications with the U.S. military from 2013 onward regarding the registration of Amami/Ryukyu as a world natural heritage site. The Amami/Ryukyu area that would be registered includes Yambaru National Park, which is adjacent to the U.S. military’s Northern Training Area. In response to an inquiry about the reason for its decision, the MOE listed concerns that disclosure of the documents would damage Japan’s relationship of trust with the United States, and explained that the documents themselves had been prepared on the condition of confidentiality with the U.S. military. The MOE has also not revealed a list specifying the undisclosed documents, nor the number of such documents that exist.

2016年11月1日火曜日

Arrest of Henoko protesters 2015/05/01

 The Japan Times>Opinions



The circumstances of the arrest last week of two activists opposed to the construction of a replacement facility for the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture raise questions about the propriety of the arrest as well as suspicions that the U.S. military is about to crack down on protesters in general.

Such a perception could intensify local resentment against both the United States and the Japanese government, which is pushing the construction, possibly fueling more protests and confusion. The Abe administration should seriously think whether it is wise to stick to the construction plan against Okinawan people’s opposition, which has been clearly expressed in a recent series of elections.