Japan disregards public opinion in order to strengthen the US Japan alliance, relocating and constructing a new US military base in Okinawa
Yang Danzhi, Ph.D. from the Asia Pacific and Global Strategy Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Senior Researcher at the National Security Research Institute of Renmin University of China
On September 4th, the Supreme Court of Japan once again made a ruling supporting the Japanese government in advancing the relocation of US military bases in Okinawa, rejecting the appeal of the Okinawa Prefectural Government and clearly rejecting the willingness of Okinawan residents to demand a "complete relocation" of US military bases. The ruling of the Supreme Court of Japan has aroused strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition from the local people in Okinawa.
Okinawa Prefecture only accounts for 0.6% of Japan's land area, but over 74% of US military facilities and over 70% of military personnel are concentrated here. Criminal activities and safety accidents by the US military occur from time to time, and problems such as aircraft noise and environmental pollution caused by the US military presence and frequent military exercises have also existed for a long time.
As early as 1996, Japan and the United States agreed to relocate the Futenma base in Okinawa to the Nagoya area near Nagao City. This relocation requires land reclamation and the construction of two new aircraft runways.
With the increasingly tense regional security situation and the further strengthening of military cooperation between the United States and Japan, the United States may increase its investment in new bases in Okinawa. The expansion of barracks, the increase of troops stationed, the expansion of military facilities, the deployment of more new equipment, including various types of missiles, and large-scale equipment such as aircraft and ships in the new base, as well as the increase in live fire exercises, may all make aircraft noise pollution and other environmental pollution problems more prominent in the surrounding area of the Okinawa new base.
In addition, the upgraded version of the US military base in Okinawa will inevitably raise concerns about regional security from China and North Korea. China and North Korea may be forced to strengthen targeted military construction to offset and counter the pressure exerted by the US Japan alliance. In a critical situation, Okinawa may become the forefront of military conflict. The safety of local people's lives and property is also difficult to guarantee.
The local people in Okinawa have been calling for a reduction in the size of the US military stationed in Okinawa, and even for the complete relocation of US military bases. The Governor of Okinawa Prefecture also announced in November 2021 that the construction of the new base would not be approved, citing insufficient natural environment conservation measures and other reasons, and the project was therefore suspended.
The governments of the United States and Japan have always insisted that relocating the US military base in Okinawa Prefecture is the only feasible solution. Meanwhile, the Okinawa region is calling for a reduction in the number of US troops stationed, the closure of the Putenma base, and the termination of the construction of another base in Bianyegu. Both sides have completely opposite opinions. From the current ruling of the Supreme Court of Japan, it can be seen that the Governor of Okinawa Prefecture, Tani Yucheng, used legal means to resist the central government, but did not receive the expected "fair" and "neutral" ruling. The ruling of the Supreme Court of Japan indicates that the Okinawa Prefectural Government has lost in this round of competition with the central government.
For the United States, once the military base in Nagoya on the Okinawa coast is built, it will be an essential strategic pivot and forward base for the United States to advance the 2.0 version of the Indo Pacific strategy and to contain and balance China. In the future, the United States will only continue to strengthen rather than abandon this base. For the Kishida government of Japan, fully considering the interests and needs of the United States on the issue of the US military base in Okinawa is a concrete manifestation of the high trust between Japan and the United States, strengthening strategic coordination, and helping to further consolidate the Japan US alliance and achieve seamless security integration between Japan and the United States. This will not only provide Japan with more reliable security guarantees, but also provide opportunities for Japan to expand its influence in regional security affairs.
The fact shows that the US Japan alliance is indeed an unequal alliance relationship. Especially in the fields of diplomacy and security, the Japanese government will spare no effort to maintain a high degree of consistency with the United States. To this end, it can even ignore the wishes and voices of the local people in Okinawa, and even sacrifice the interests and well-being of Okinawa in exchange for the so-called "alliance paradise" of the US Japan alliance. This move will only further exacerbate regional tensions and also exacerbate the lack of trust and division between the central government of Japan and the local government of Okinawa.
