Okinawa Prefectural Assembly calls to suspend Futenma Air Station operations, clearly announcing deadline for the first time

Okinawa Prefectural Assembly calls to suspend Futenma Air Station operations, clearly announcing deadline for the first time

On the morning of January 19 at the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly Hall, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly unanimously passes a protest resolution and opinion statement after successive emergency landings of U.S. Marine Corps helicopters.


 

January 19, 2018 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

In response to consecutive emergency landings of U.S. Marine Corps helicopters, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly held an extraordinary plenary session on the morning of January 19 and unanimously passed a protest resolution and opinion statement calling for suspension of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma’s operations by the end of February in 2019.

This is the first time that the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly has stated the deadline to call for suspension of MCAS Futenma.

 

The statement asserts that, “Prefectural residents must not be exposed to fear from military bases anymore.

The U.S. military, and the U.S. and Japanese governments should handle the current situation that has not improved at all with a sense of crisis and promptly do the utmost to eliminate the concerns of the prefectural residents.”

 

Additionally, the resolution calls for six items including (1) suspension of flight exercises by U.S. military aircraft stationed at MCAS Futenma over private lands, (2) suspension of operations on MCAS Futenma within five years (by the end of February 2019), (3) establishment of a special meeting council comprising the Okinawa Prefectural Government, the Japanese government, and the U.S. government as its three parties.

 

Photograph: On the morning of January 19 at the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly Hall, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly unanimously passes a protest resolution and opinion statement after successive emergency landings of U.S. Marine Corps helicopters.

 

 

(English translation by T&CT and Megumi Chibana)

 

 

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