Local parents urge Defense Bureau to block military flights over daycare center after parts fall from sky
Members of Team Midorigaoka 1207 submitting a petition to Director General Isao Ono (right) at the Okinawa Defense Bureau in Kadena, Okinawa Prefecture, on Dec 7 (Photographed by Erina Ishii).
December 8, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Erina Ishii
On December 7, four years after parts from a U.S. military aircraft fell on Midorigaoka daycare center in Nodake, Ginowan City, a group of parents visited the Okinawa Defense Bureau in Kadena and the Okinawa Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Naha City. The group, named Team Midorigaoka 1207, continued its plea for the U.S. military to stop flying aircraft over the daycare center. Isao Ono, Director General of the Okinawa Defense Bureau, reiterated, “We will request the U.S. authorities to give [this] the utmost consideration.”
In their petition, Team Midorigaoka asked for (1) an investigation into the cause of the accident and prevention of its recurrence, (2) a suspension of [military] flights until the cause is investigated, and (3) ban all U.S. military aircraft taking off from and landing at the Futenma Air Base from flying over the daycare center.
Ono, who received the petition, said, “We have urged the U.S. on similar occasions to stop flying above schools. We will promptly share any updates as they come in and take appropriate measures.”
Tomoko Miyagi, president of Team Midorigaoka, choked up as she pleaded, “The noise pollution has gotten worse than when the accident occurred, because of [increase in] foreign aircraft. Is our request to refrain from flying over the daycare center so difficult?”
The situation has not improved in the four years since the accident. Miyagi and the parents expressed their outrage stating, “the Okinawa Defense Bureau just gives the same response from four years ago.”
(English translation by T&CT and Monica Shingaki)
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