U.S. military still using land after its return; 342 unused bullets, field rations waste, and other garbage found on former NTA land
Unused bullets found on returned land that used to be part of the U.S. military’s Northern Training Area in Ada, Kunigami on September 28 in Ada, Kunigami (photograph provided by Akino Miyagi)
September 30, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo
(Kunigami) On September 28, 342 unused U.S. military bullets and a large quantity of field ration packaging and other garbage were discovered near the location of the former LZ-1 helipad on returned land that used to be part of the U.S. military’s Northern Training Area in Ada, Kunigami, Okinawa. Butterfly researcher Akino Miyagi made the discovery, and the munitions and garbage were collected by Nago police workers on September 29. From the state of the garbage, it appeared to have been disposed of very recently, indicating the possibility that the U.S. military is still using said land even after its return. On September 19, 463 pieces of unused and unexploded munitions were found near the location of the former LZ-FBJ helipad on returned land also in Ada, Kunigami.
Field ration packaging and other garbage found on returned land that used to be part of the U.S. military’s Northern Training Area in Ada, Kunigami on September 28 in Ada, Kunigami (photograph provided by Akino Miyagi)
When Miyagi visited the LZ-1 site on July 26, neither the blank cartridges nor the garbage had been disposed of there. The larger of the bullets measured 6.7 cm in length and 1.1 cm in diameter, and the smaller ones measured 4.9 cm in length and 0.9 cm in diameter. They were disposed of in the bushes near the helipad. The field rations garbage included around 30 outer packages, which contained empty inner packages and spoons. “There was still sauce remaining in the inner packages,” said Miyagi. “I could smell it rotting, and I think it had been dumped there within the last week.”
“The new helipads in Takae and Aha were supposed to have been built as a condition for the return of this land,” Miyagi pointed out. “But now, even the minimum promise not to use this land is not being fulfilled.”
(English translation by T&CT and Sandi Aritza)
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