Okinawa Assembly unanimously adopts resolution protesting U.S. military fallen parts incidents

Okinawa Assembly unanimously adopts resolution protesting U.S. military fallen parts incidents

The opening of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly's June plenary session


June 18, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo online edition

On the morning of June 18 the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly opened its June plenary session. At the meeting the Assembly unanimously adopted a protest resolution and written statement in protest of the incident in which a piece of blade tape fell onto Uranishi Junior High School in Urasoe City off of a CH-53E helicopter from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

Some contents of the resolution and written statement mentioned, “One wrong step could lead to a serious incident affecting human life, and we have been reminded of the dangers of Futenma Air Station,” and “We absolutely do not condone the U.S. military’s stance on the recurrence of incidents.” These documents also outlined requests including: (1) a thorough inspection of the cause of the incident and circumstances surrounding the incident, (2) a halt to U.S. military aircraft flights and training in the sky over private property, (3) the immediate closure of Futenma Air Station, and (4) a drastic revision of the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement.

By the end of this week the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly plans to submit the resolution and written statement directly to the U.S. Marine Corps in Okinawa, the U.S. Consulate General in Okinawa, the Okinawa Defense Bureau, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Okinawa Liaison Office, among others. The Assembly will also mail these documents to relevant agencies outside Okinawa.

There are 32 proposed measures to be addressed during the Assembly’s June plenary session. These include a proposed supplementary budget of 6,895,000 yen for bringing a new lawsuit against the central government concerning construction of the Futenma Replacement Facility in Henoko, and a petition to establish a prefectural support center for victims of sexual violence. The lawsuit that the Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) plans to bring against the central government is to request a decision to cancel the Land Minister’s annullment of the OPG’s land reclamation permit revocation. The OPG plans to file the lawsuit if the supplementary budget is adopted.

The Assembly’s June plenary session will last 24 days, ending on July 11. It will question representatives concerning proposed measures on June 25 and 26.

(English translation by T&CT and Erin Jones)

Go to Japanese


　


Previous Article:
Next Article:

[Similar Articles]