琉球新報 2016年12月23日 06:01
誰のための返還なのか。米軍と安倍政権が仕組んだ欺瞞（ぎまん）に満ちた茶番と断じるほかない。
在沖米軍基地機能強化による沖縄の負担増を、返還面積の広さで覆い隠し「負担軽減」と偽装することは断じて認められない。
２０１６年１２月２２日を新たな「屈辱の日」に終わらせてはならない。真の負担軽減を勝ち取る「出発の日」として位置付けたい。
県民は本土の捨て石にされた悲惨な沖縄戦に巻き込まれた揚げ句、土地を米軍に強制的に接収された。その事実を踏まえれば軽々に「負担軽減」とは言えないはずである。
菅氏は「２０年もの歳月を経てようやく返還を実現することができた」と述べた。米軍が「使用不可能」とする土地が返されるまで多くの年月を要したことを、まず謝罪すべきではなかったか。
東村高江の集落を囲む六つのヘリパッド移設が北部訓練場過半返還の条件である。オスプレイは既に訓練を繰り返している。夜間も騒音が激化し、睡眠不足になった児童が学校を欠席する事態を招いたこともある。
高江の状況を見れば、ヘリパッド移設を条件にした今回の返還がまやかしの「負担軽減」であることは明らかだ。
政府は米軍普天間飛行場の危険除去のため、人口の少ない名護市辺野古移設を進めるとする。だが、北部訓練場ではそれと逆のことをやっている。山林にあるヘリパッドを集落近くに移すことは、辺野古新基地建設の論理と矛盾する。
菅氏は「ヘリパッド移設で、これからもご迷惑をお掛けする」とし、住民に負担を強いることを認めた。これが安倍政権の言う「負担軽減」である。
稲田朋美防衛相は式典で「オスプレイ事故を受け、集落上空を避けるなど、地元の生活環境への配慮が十分得られるように取り組む」と述べた。期待できない。
防衛省は米軍に、民間地域でのオスプレイの危険なつり下げ訓練の中止を要請した。だが、米軍は訓練を強行した。日本政府に米軍の危険な訓練を止める力はない。
知事欠席は当然だ
空席が目立った返還式典とは対照的に、政党や市民団体でつくる「オール沖縄会議」主催のオスプレイ撤去を求める抗議集会は熱気であふれた。
翁長雄志知事もうちなーぐちで決意を述べ、「皆で心を一つにして子や孫のため、どうしても負けてはならない。辺野古新基地ができなければ、オスプレイの配備も撤回できる。必ず造らせないように頑張ろう」と呼び掛けた。
基地の過重な負担への不安が高まる中、知事が県民に粘り強い運動を求めたことに、県民の多くが勇気付けられたはずだ。
菅氏は返還式典後、「基地の負担軽減を掲げる知事が出席できないのは極めて残念だ」と述べた。知事が式典を欠席した重みを受け止められないとあっては、沖縄基地負担軽減担当相の資格はない。
知事が欠席したのは当然だ。それに不快感を示すこと自体おかしい。オスプレイ墜落事故直後に返還式典を強行することで、県民を愚弄（ぐろう）したことに気付くべきだ。
沖縄が求めていることは子どもたちが健やかに育つ生活環境の保障である。今回の返還が安全な暮らしにつながることはない。抗議集会参加者だけではない。多くの県民がそのことを知っている。
沖縄の未来を切り開くのは県民である。県民の力で圧政をはね返すことを改めて誓いたい。
＜社説＞北部訓練場過半返還 「負担軽減」にならない 県民の力で圧政はね返そう
琉球新報 2016年12月23日 06:01
英文へ→Editorial: Return of Northern Training Area land will not reduce burden; people’s power must resist oppression
Editorial: Return of Northern Training Area land will not reduce burden; people’s power must resist oppression
December 23, 2016 Ryukyu ShimpoFor whose sake is the land being returned? The return can only be declared a deceptive farce devised by the U.S. military and the Abe administration.
At the ceremony celebrating the return of more than half of the U.S. military’s Northern Training Area, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga stated, “This is the largest return of land since Okinawa was returned to Japan. Roughly twenty percent of U.S. military facility land in Okinawa is being returned, contributing greatly to the reduction of burden on Okinawa.”
It is utterly unacceptable to disguise an increase in the burden borne by Okinawa, in the form of strengthening the function of U.S. bases in Okinawa, as a “reduction of burden” by focusing solely on the area of land to be returned.
We cannot allow December 22, 2016 to go down in history as yet another “Day of Humiliation.” We must rather turn it into a starting point to win a real reduction of burden.
Logic of new base construction and contradictions
At the ceremony, Suga stated that the Special Action Committee on Okinawa (SACO) agreement of 1996 between Japan and the U.S. was the starting point for the return of roughly 4,000 hectares of the Northern Training Area. He should have looked back further to the Battle of Okinawa.
After Okinawans were embroiled in the tragic Battle of Okinawa, turned into a sacrificial stone for the protection of the Japanese mainland, their land was forcibly seized by the U.S. military. Given that reality, there is no way the present action could be nonchalantly declared a “reduction of burden.”
Suga said, “After 20 years, we have finally been able to achieve the return.” In fact, he should have apologized for the fact that it took so long to achieve the return of land that the U.S. military considers “unusable.”
The return of more than half of the Northern Training Area is conditioned on the relocation of six helipads in locations so that they will surround the hamlet of Takae in Higashi Villgae. Osprey are already training there regularly. Noise problems at night are becoming more severe, leading to children having to miss school due to lack of sleep.
Looking at the situation in Takae, it is clear that the present land return, conditioned on the helipad relocation, is merely a farcical “reduction of burden.”
The government says that in order to remove the dangers posed by U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, it must proceed with the construction of a relocation facility in Henoko, Nago City, which has a smaller population. However, in the case of the Northern Training Area, it is doing exactly the opposite. Helipads located in a forested area are being relocated to near a hamlet, which contradicts the logic for building a new base in Henoko.
Suga admitted that a burden is being forced on residents, saying, “We will continue to cause you inconvenience with the helipad relocation.” This is what the Abe administration calls a “reduction of burden.”
Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said at the ceremony, “In light of the [recent] Osprey accident, we will endeavor to ensure full consideration of the local living environment, such as through avoidance of flights directly over the hamlet.” We are not hopeful.
The Ministry of Defense asked the U.S. military to stop doing dangerous exercises that involve suspending objects by cables from Osprey over residential areas. However, the U.S. military continued such exercises anyway. The Japanese government is powerless to prevent the U.S. military from conducting dangerous training exercises.
Only natural for governor not to attend ceremony
In contrast to the return ceremony, where empty seats stood out, a protest rally held on the same day, organized by the All Okinawa Coalition, which comprises political parties and civic groups, to demand removal of the Osprey was full of fervor.
At the rally, Governor Takeshi Onaga expressed his determination in Uchinaguchi, saying, “We must bring our hearts together as one. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, we can’t lose. If a new base is not built in Henoko, we will also be able to have the Osprey removed. We must do our best to prevent [the Henoko base] from being built.”
As concerns about the excessive burden of bases increases, many Okinawans were surely encouraged by the governor’s call for Okinawans to persist in their struggle.
After the return ceremony, Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga said, “It is very unfortunate that the governor, who calls for a reduction of the base burden, is unable to attend.” If he is unable to recognize the significance of the governor’s absence from the ceremony, he is not qualified to be the Minister in charge of Alleviating the Burden of the Bases in Okinawa.
It is only natural that the governor did not attend the ceremony. It is rather strange that Suga expressed discomfort with the governor’s absence. He should realize that by pressing forward with the return ceremony immediately after an Osprey crash incident, the government was mocking the people of Okinawa.
What Okinawa demands is the guarantee of a living environment where children can grow up in sound health. The present land return will not lead to a safe living environment. Many Okinawans, not only those who attended the protest rally, know this.
It is Okinawans who will be the ones to open a path to Okinawa’s future. We should once more pledge to use our power as Okinawans to resist oppression.
(English translation by T&CT and Sandi Aritza)
Go to Japanese
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EDITORIAL: Tokyo continues to shun Okinawa in ongoing fight over U.S. base
Asahi Sinbun | December 28, 2016 at 13:25 JSTOkinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga retracted his decision to rescind approval for land reclamation work at the site given by his predecessor, Hirokazu Nakaima on Dec. 26, less than a week after the Supreme Court ruled against the Okinawa prefectural government.
The central government wasted no time in resuming the project, without the support of the people of Okinawa. And Onaga is set to exercise every gubernatorial power at his disposal to resist the project.
It is regrettable that Tokyo and Okinawa are back to the state of confrontation they were in before a court-mediated settlement was reached back in March.
During this past year, Okinawa experienced a series of incidents that made it painfully aware--again--of the excessive burden of hosting U.S. military bases.
In May, a former U.S. Marine, then working for a contractor at a U.S. base, was arrested in connection with the murder of a 20-year-old Okinawan woman.
In July, Tokyo mobilized riot police from around the nation to resume construction of U.S. helipads in the Northern Training Area of the U.S. forces. Some police officers hurled racist slurs against protesters at the construction site, calling them "dojin" (indigenous people) and "Shina-jin" (Chinese).
In December, people's fears of an Osprey aircraft accident became a reality. But despite local protests, the U.S. military resumed Osprey flights a mere six days later with Tokyo's approval.
None of these grievous incidents would ever occur in regions that do not have U.S. military bases. Yet, the safety and peace of mind of Okinawans are being threatened for the "deterrence power" of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.
We cannot but be reminded anew of the unreasonableness of about 70 percent of all U.S. military installments in Japan being concentrated in Okinawa.
And this unreasonableness can never be corrected by merely moving the Futenma air base to Henoko within the same prefecture. And so long as there is no local support or understanding for the presence of U.S. bases, their stable operation cannot be hoped for.
Tokyo must squarely face up to this reality.
What needs to be remembered is the following view, indicated to both Tokyo and Okinawa by the Naha Branch of the Fukuoka High Court, at the time of the March settlement: "Ideally, the entire nation of Japan, including Okinawa, should reach an agreement on the best solution and seek the cooperation of the United States."
Similarly, a third-party commission tasked with resolving disputes between the central and local governments urged Tokyo and Okinawa in June to confer in earnest on their common goal of realizing the return of the land occupied by the Futenma base.
Indeed, the return of the Futenma property must be their common goal, and they must not lose sight of this.
But in disregard of Okinawa's repeated demand for dialogue, Tokyo has maintained an attitude that can only be called disinterested.
To break the impasse, the central government must first halt the work at Henoko and try to create an opening for regaining the trust of the people of Okinawa.
And surely, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, should be doing more than just standing by and watching. There can never be any progress while they keep repeating that relocation to Henoko is the "only solution."
--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 28
Asahi Sinbun | December 28, 2016 at 13:25 JST
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