Okinawa Prefecture hosts online symposium regarding the military base issue in Okinawa, attended by the governor and prefectural staff
Panelists discussing the formation of regional cooperative network centered in Okinawa (screen image captured from Zoom)
March 27, 2022 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Shohei Tsukazaki
Okinawa Prefecture hosted a symposium titled “Think with Governor Denny – working towards peace with Asia and Okinawa,” March 26, held online over video conference. Okinawa governor Denny Tamaki plans to start the “U.S. Military base issue advisory board” comprising national security experts in May, and will listen to their opinions on the international political climate, which he will use to help inform policy in Okinawa.
At a press briefing after the seminar, Governor Tamaki explained the goal for the expert advisory board, saying, “I want to ask for an analysis of the current international situation, and what actions we can undertake from Okinawa.” When asked if topics such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the situation in Taiwan would be addressed, he responded, “We will gather that information from the members ahead of time.”
The advisory board was established as the successor to the “Bankoku Shinryo Conference on U.S. Military Base Issues,” which was outlined in the 2019 policy recommendations, and had its first meeting in August of last year.
In addition to governor Tamaki, the online symposium was attended by former Assistant Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kyoji Yanagisawa, Aoyama Gakuin University emeritus professor Kumiko Haba, and former Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) policy advisor Shigeaki Koga, where they discussed the possibility of Okinawa directly working to relieve tensions in Asia.
Professor Haba suggested that Okinawa could be used as the hub of a trust-building network in Asia. She explained that the history of European Integration after World War 2, saying, “It is necessary to build an Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) to address issues such as the environment, security, and peace, with Okinawa and Taiwan as the axes.”
(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)
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Webcam(Kokusai Street)
