Special correspondent Yukiyo Zaha reports from Washington DC
On December 8, a petition website was created to halt the new base construction in Henoko, Nago City in association with the relocation of the U.S. military Futenma Air Station. The petition is addressed to U.S. President Donald Trump and the hope is to, at the very least, halt the construction before February 24 of next year at which time a prefectural referendum will be held. Signatures are being collected via We the People, a White House petition website. As of December 12 (Japan time), there were about 7,300 signatures. If 10,000 signatures can be collected within the first 30 days, then a response to the petition by the White House will be delivered within 60 days. Petition creator Robert Kajiwara, a 32-year-old fourth-generation Okinawan-American living in Hawaii, said, “We would like as many Okinawans as possible to sign the petition.”
The petition is titled, “Stop the landfill of Henoko/Oura Bay until a referendum can be held in Okinawa.” The petition touches on the election of Governor Denny Tamaki who opposes the new base construction, as well as the many years of protests by the Okinawan people. Despite these factors, the Japanese government and U.S. military have ignored the will of the Okinawan people. Addressed to President Trump, the petition writes, “Please order a HALT to the construction & ensure that democracy prevails. Please show Okinawans that America is indeed an honorable and GREAT nation.”
Kajiwara’s mother is from Nakagusuku Village. Besides participating in training for children living overseas from Nakagusuku Village, Kajiwara has also participated in activities in support of Native Hawaiians. He felt that Okinawa and Hawaii, both of which had been independent countries, have followed similar histories and are in similar situations. He has also participated in several protests in Henoko. He said, “With a multi-cultural background and being able to speak English, I felt that I could build a bridge between Okinawa and the U.S. In order to appeal to Americans, we have to do it in a way that they can understand.”
On December 15 as part of construction of the Futenma replacement facility in Henoko, Nago City, soil deposits into the planned land reclamation area at Cape Henoko on Camp Schwab continued. Work temporarily stopped when the soil hauled in on December 14 was all used. Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, observing the spot where soil was being deposited, told reporters, “The OPG is firmly pursuing lawful means of opposition.” Governor Tamaki also participated in the protest gathering in front of the gate to Camp Schwab. He said, “I will go on to demand true democracy in response to the violence of the central government. I will continue the discussion, but when I should stand up [to the government] I will stand up. I will never give up.”
Two of the cargo ships that deposited soil on the shore of Camp Schwab on the morning of December 15, photographed in the afternoon of the same day in Henoko, Nago City (Photograph taken via small drone)
Several barges piled with soil went from the K9 seawall off the Schwab shore to the planned land reclamation area and deposited soil one after another. When one barge unloaded its batch of soil, the barge would leave the seawall and go to a carrier ship anchored nearby to receive another batch of soil. Once the carrier ship’s soil was gone, the day’s work ended. The Japanese government appears to be awaiting the next shipment of soil to resume depositing work, and plans to accelerate the work at the beginning of next week. On this day the deposited sand was hauled from the Ryukyu Cement Co. pier in Awa, Nago City. The Okinawa Defense Bureau (ODB) is not following the essential procedures set out in the Red Soil Prevention Ordinance, and has received administrative guidance from the Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) amidst the soil hauling.
Governor Tamaki spoke in front of the citizens gathered to protest. He said: “We could not avoid greeting this unbearable day. However, we will certainly handle it. We are using all our strength and doing everything within our power to handle this. Our fight is not over.”
After the protest gathering Governor Tamaki observed soil depositing operations first-hand from the wharf at Henoko Fishing Harbor. He made his discomfort known to reporters, saying, “Coming to the actual spot gives me a bizarre tearing sensation in my chest.” In response to Minister of Defense Takeshi Iwaya’s perception that it will be difficult to return Futenma Air Station by 2022 at the earliest, Governor Tamaki refuted: “How soon will Futenma be returned? It is not something a democratic nation would have trouble deciding.”
No materials were brought in through the Camp Schwab gate on this day.
Interview with the governor
The exchange between a group of reporters and Governor Denny Tamaki, who had just observed the site of new base construction in Henoko, went as follows:
Q: How did you feel observing the actual site? What did you pray for at uganju?
A: “It tears at my chest. We will not shrink away or step back. Until [the site] is restored to its original state, we will demand that the central government act in the way it ought to, as a democratic nation. This has renewed my determination to work together with Okinawans. I prayed, ‘Please bestow Okinawans with the strength to build a peaceful future.'”
Q: In your greeting you said, ” I will continue the discussion, but when I should stand up [to the government] I will stand up,” but have you decided on a policy?
A: “I do not plan to run up on the deadlock that is ‘Henoko is the only solution.’ I will continue discussions, along with experts, in the hope of coming to a settlement. Soil depositing is illegal. We are pursuing a series of methods that should be adopted and that abide by the law. The OPG is firmly pursuing lawful means of opposition.”
Q: Minister of Defense Takeshi Iwaya said it will be difficult to return Futenma Air Station by 2022 at the earliest, but what do you think of him making this statement on a day when soil deposits are taking place?
A: “It is the government’s method to say something convenient prior to starting, yet to paint over it afterward. It is the same as when [the government] said it was probably possible for residents of Henoko Ward to be offered separate compensation, but afterward took back those words and said it was not possible. The government keeps deceiving its citizens. Removing the danger of Futenma Air Station should come first. The government is standing on the excuse of ‘Henoko is the only solution’ to act illegally. His statement exposes the government’s failings. I resent it.”
On December 11 the Yomitan Village Assembly (chaired by Atsushi Iha) unanimously passed a position statement and protest resolution relating to an incident in which a U.S. Air Force soldier in possession of a handgun deserted his base and went missing. The position statement and resolution object to the incident, and demand that results of the investigation into the cause of the incident be disclosed, among other things.
This statement pointed out that, “There are problems in the faultiness of the U.S. military’s weapon management system, and the delay of the reporting system to local municipalities. It is totally unacceptable.” The Assembly asked for these systems to be reviewed and made perfect.
Additionally, the statement mentioned the fact that the place where the solider was detained is a residential area, something that “could directly link to serious incidents and put villagers in a position of serious uneasiness and fear.”
The protest resolution has been sent to the U.S. ambassador to Japan and the U.S. Army commander in Japan, and the position statement has been sent to the prime minister and the chief cabinet secretary.
In reaction to the Okinawa Defense Bureau (ODB) starting land reclamation in the water off the coast of Henoko, Nago as part of new U.S. military base construction December 14, Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki gave remarks to reporters at the Okinawa Prefectural Office the same morning, stating, “I cannot help but feel intense indignation.”
Governor Tamaki emphatically stated, “Yesterday I met with Chief Cabinet Secretary [Yoshihide] Suga and Minister of Defense Takeshi Iwaya, and petitioned them to stop land reclamation. Despite this however, the construction continues as planned in complete disregard of the will of the Okinawan people, and I cannot help but feel intense indignation.”
Governor Tamaki has called a board meeting to discuss how his office will respond.
The governor is also exploring the possibility of entering Henoko himself.
In the Uebaru neighborhood in Naha, the sound of a large “BOOM” spread throughout a residential area as an undetonated artillery shell was disposed of by detonation December 9. The shell was found in between houses and apartments in a densely populated area. Around 2,500 people from 1,000 residences and 70 business were evacuated. The neighborhood’s residents voiced their uneasiness regarding the unexploded ordinance that was found close to people livings spaces with comments such as, “It was astonishing,” and “It feels like the war is still going on.”
Just after 8:30 a.m. a car circulated the neighborhood to hand out notices of the ordinance disposal, and Naha City employees visited homes directly to assist in the evacuation. There were people seen walking from their homes as well as those loading their families into their cars. By 10:00 a.m. the district had become a ghost town, and the roads began to close. City employees and police officers directed approaching cars to detours around the area.
The Japanese-made artillery shell found in a densely populated residential area
The two evacuation centers were the gymnasium at Oroku Junior High School and the Takara Shared Facilities Government Office. About 20 people evacuated to Oroku Junior High School.
The time was 3:03 p.m. At the moment the unexploded ordinance was detonated, a resounding “BOOM” made its way as far as Oroku. Tamiko Yonaha, 74, from Uebaru, who also heard the explosion, said, “It is inexcusable. It feels like the Battle of Okinawa is still going on.”
Joji Miyazato, 46, who lives in Oroku, lives outside the evacuation area, however the sound of the explosion reached his home, and worried, he went to the evacuation center. Many years ago a similar incident involving unexploded ordinance took place near his house. “I hope they do not find any more in the Oroku area,” he said, expressing his uneasiness.
During the evacuation period, the operation had to be called of numerous times due to people being in the evacuation area. This caused the disposal to finish about one hour later than planned, at about 5:00 p.m. A 79-year-old woman from Uebaru said, “The disposal took too long. I could not do anything during this time,” she said, visibly displeased.
The 70 businesses within the evacuation area, which included places such as a home for the elderly and a supermarket, were asked to evacuate customers and to change their operating times. At the “Ryukyu” home for the elderly, facility vehicles and elder-care taxis made countless trips starting at 7:30 a.m., including 31 residents who were confined to a wheelchair. The residents included many who lived through the Pacific War, and many expressed their feelings with comments like, “It brings back memories of the war,” and “I am unhappy that the effects of the war have lasted to the time of my children and grandchildren.”
At 7:52 a.m. Naha experienced a season-low temperature of 17.4 degrees Celsius. “Ryukyu” residents could be heard saying to employees, “Today is cold, isn’t it?” as they were being helped into vehicles, wrapped in blankets.
Residents of the nursing home “Ryukyu” in Uebaru being evacuated early in the morning of December 9 prior to the bomb disposal
One resident, an 82-year-old woman who lived through the battle of Okinawa when she was 8 years old while living in Yoza, Takamine (now known as Itoman City), lost both her mother and grandfather during the war. Shortly after her 18-year-old sister was injured and contracted tetanus, and drew her last breath while hiding in an air-raid shelter, holding a metal pipe in the mouth she could not open, trembling and repeating, “I cannot die and leave you here alone.” She stressed, “War is atrocious. It fills your heart with fear. Seventy years have passed, and still I must evacuate for an unexploded shell. Whatever else happens, was is out of the question, bases are also out of the question.”
Takeyoshi Taira ,90, another nursing home resident who fled to Oita prefecture during the war, spoke with reporters while waiting to board a vehicle the morning of December 9, and he said in a subdued voice about yet another undetonated shell being found, “The war is not yet over. It feels like we are relapsing back into war.”
December 9 marked the establishment of the “Liaison Committee for Prefectural Referendum to Demonstrate Popular Will Against Henoko Reclamation and New Base Construction” in preparation for the prefectural referendum to be held on the issue of land reclamation in Henoko, Nago City, Okinawa as part of the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. The committee approved a set of rules and joint representatives and other officers at an inaugural meeting held at the community center in Naha City. Going forward, the committee will engage in a prefecture-wide action to encourage people to cast their vote in opposition to the land reclamation.
At the inaugural meeting, participants vowed, “We will not under any circumstances allow a new base to be built in Henoko. Okinawans will decide Okinawa’s future without being at the mercy of the Japanese and U.S. governments. Let’s embark in high spirits on a historic struggle to pave the way to a new future for Okinawa.” This mission was adopted with thunderous applause from the 250 participants from 56 groups (according to organizer estimates).
Former Nago mayor Susumu Inamine, Kanehide Group chairman Morimasa Goya, University of the Ryukyus Graduate School of Law professor Tetsumi Takara, and Terumasagumi chairman Yoshimi Teruya were selected as joint representatives. The committee plans to have six representatives and is currently searching for two female representatives to fill the remaining slots.
Mr. Teruya addressed the participants as a representative for all the joint representatives, and called for unity, saying, “If the Abe administration refuses to listen even when popular opposition to the new Henoko base has been demonstrated countless times through elections, we must be prepared to demonstrate the popular will again and again, no matter how many times it takes.”
A planning and coordination council comprising members of the prefectural government’s ruling party, labor unions, and businesses was behind the planning of the liaison committee in advance of the prefectural referendum to be held in February of next year.
On Dec. 6, the Okinawa General Bureau announced the completion of its three-year repainting project of Shuri Castle located in Naha City. Restoration of the lacquer used on the castle’s seiden, or the main hall, began in 2016 and was completed on Nov. 29. It is the first time an entire exterior wall was treated since the buildings were rebuilt in 1992. Motifs of dragons and lions depicted on the cusped gable and the four pillars jutting out of the facade were revived with pigment and gold leaf, bringing back the vibrant colors it once had shortly after the reconstruction.
The Shuri Castle seiden features a fresh coat of pigment and gilding in March 2018. Photo by Okinawa Genral Bureau.
The castle’s lacquer, made of natural pigments, had eroded over the years under harsh sunlight, winds and rain. Yasushi Nakajima, Director-General of the Development Construction Department, announced the project “successfully returned the castle to its original appearance when it was rebuilt. I invite everyone to visit and enjoy the bright vermillion color of the seiden.”
A new plan is being put into action to increase the consumption of Ryukyu Awamori, which has seen a recent downward trend in consumption, by promoting exports.
In addition to the “Ryukyu Awamori Export Project,” a public-private venture to support increased sales channels for Awamori, distilleries and companies in Okinawa are working together to export the liquor abroad.
Challenges to foreign development of the good include tax barriers and low name recognition, however some involved in the project have high expectations, claiming that, “Awamori has a lot of potential.”
A downward trend in both domestic and foreign shipments
The gross domestic shipments of Awamori reached a peak during the “Okinawa Boom” in 2004 when a total of 27,688 kiloliters were shipped; the drink has been steadily declining in the 13 years since.
In 2017, the gross domestic shipments of Awamori totaled 17,709 kiloliters, a 36% decline from the 2004 peak.
Shinken Tsuchiya, president of the Okinawa Distillers Guild, analyzes, “Due to a variety of different alcoholic beverages coming to the island, the preferences of consumers has diversified, there is also a downward pressure from women and younger people staying away from alcohol as well as an overall decline in the population of drinkers.”
While the total exports for Awamori have increased from approximately 18 kiloliters in 2011 to 29 kiloliters in 2017, the situation remains one filled with ups and downs, and has not yet lead to solid growth.
Exports only account for 0.2% of total shipments.
Most cases of exported Awamori involve distilleries doing it on their own, and Tsuchiya indicates, “There are many companies that do not have the strength to export, and even for those that do there are limits.”
China & Ireland
In order to expand exports, Okinawan distilleries and companies are building a cooperative framework.
Awamori distillers Binkou HD, Mizuho Shuzo, and Nano Shuhan export to China “Okinawa Shirozake,” the undiluted sake used to make Awamori.
Shirozake, called “Baiju” in China, is a popular type of liquor in China and differs from Japanese sake, so many have their eyes on cutting into this new market.
Three distilleries, Chuko Awamori, Kumejima’s Kumesen, and Zuisen Distillery, are partnering with Blueship Okinawa to sell Awamori in Ireland.
The goal is to raise the level of awareness about Awamori to someday export Awamori to each country in the Western world.
An official from the Okinawa General Bureau, which is involved in Awamori exports, said regarding their expectations, “With the cooperation of a number of companies, we should be able to work towards a model of foreign development in the future.”
Getting the word out to foreign tourists
Okinawan distillers, companies, and governing bodies have banded together and kicked off the Ryukyu Awamori Export Project, where they are exploring options such as pairing Awamori with different food, as well as discussing the expansion of sales channels.
The project hopes to increase the approximately 29 kiloliter export total from 2017 to 100 kiloliters by 2022.
Awamori continues faces challenges such as the steep tax imposed on liquor when shipping abroad, as well as relatively low name recognition when compared to other Japanese liquors such as sake that are widely known abroad.
Conversely, the number of foreign tourists to Okinawa is increasing, and this provides a big chance to get the word out about Awamori internationally.
The Okinawa Distillers Guild plans on surveying these foreign tourists to for a strategy for developing overseas markets.
Tsuchiya stresses, “We can promote the drink from a health standpoint with things like sugar-free and low calorie.
We will continue to make use of Okinawan superiority to tell the world about the greatness of Awamori.”
On December 6 at the construction site for the Futenma Replacement Facility in Henoko, Nago City, the Okinawa Defense Bureau moves forward with hauling sediment from the Ryukyu Cement Co. pier in Awa, Nago City.
Hauling work resumed on December 5 in spite of the Okinawa Prefectural Government’s repeated administrative guidance for halting operations. Citizens who carry out sit-in protests raised their voices in anger against the hauling work being forced through, saying, “Isn’t Japan a law-governed country?”
On December 6 around 8:30 a.m. a woman raises a banner saying, “I want to protect this sea.”
The ship carrying sediment to Henoko docked at around 7:00 a.m. at the pier. Then, around 8:00 a.m., about 80 riot policemen removed some 25 citizens who were staging a sit-in protest. Construction vehicles loaded with sediment entered the Ryukyu Cement Co. lot one after another. Sediment was loaded onto the ship by a conveyor belt.
At 8:46 a.m., a canoe team that stages sit-ins on the sea at Henoko began a protest at Awa with 10 canoes and one rubber boat. They raised a banner bearing the words, “Stop the new base,” facing it toward workers on the ship carrying sediment, urging the workers to halt hauling work.
The Overseas Base Realignment and Closure Coalition (OBRACC), a group comprised of U.S. experts and former high-level public officials, recently released a letter to Congress calling for the closure of U.S. bases in Okinawa, Europe, the Middle East, and other overseas locations.
It is a significant request that takes the big picture into account.
OBRACC perceives problems with the presence of U.S. military bases around the world since the end of the Cold War, such as military tension heightening antagonism toward the United States and damage to local environments.
Forty advocates signed the letter including former high-level U.S. military officials, leaders of U.S. think tanks, scholars, and experts with a wide range of knowledge.
Some reasons OBRACC made this request are because maintaining overseas bases is expensive, advancements in military technology make rapid response from the continental United States possible, and the presence of overseas bases antagonize neighboring countries such as Russia and China.
Because there is a hefty budget being used for maintaining and building bases abroad, the budgets for domestic education and welfare are being diminished.
It could be said a request that takes these circumstances into consideration is a valuable recommendation based on deeply practical analysis.
Actually, for a time the U.S. was greatly reducing its military stationing abroad.
In 1945 the U.S. had more than 2000 base installations, but these numbers have declined at times such as after the Vietnam War and after the Cold War.
In 2015 U.S. bases were consolidated due to a sharp cut to the national defense budget.
The U.S. has reduced its overseas installations by about 30 percent compared with the 761 overseas installations present 10 years ago.
However, in those 10 years the U.S. Forces, Japan (USFJ) only reduced its installations by 3.
This is likely because a high ratio of U.S. military stationing costs falling on Japan.
The cost of host nation support for USFJ stationing (the omoiyari yosan) has risen to about 189.3 billion yen annually.
Former U.S. Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, an advocate on the OBRACC letter to Congress, mentioned that stationing of the U.S. Marine Corps in Okinawa is not being reduced due to circumstances making it less expensive than maintaining the Corps on U.S. soil.
It is fresh in the public mind that during the presidential campaign, President Trump, prior to assuming office, did not clearly understand the high ratio of these expenses on Japan and hinted at withdrawing USFJ troops.
The ratio of USFJ expenses borne by Japan indicates the likelihood that the U.S. will withdraw from Japan of its own accord.
By providing enormous compensation Japan is actually keeping the U.S. military from such a course of action.
One might ask what that means for Japan’s financial affairs. Japan’s combined national and regional debts already exceed one quadrillion yen.
Although Japan has low social security expenditures, each year the scope increases by 500 billion yen.
According to trial calculations by the Okinawa Prefectural Government, by the time the new base being constructed in Henoko is completed, the cost of construction will reach 2.55 trillion yen.
It should be verified whether or not the new base is truly necessary.
In February this year the Ryukyu Shimpo interviewed former Minister of Defense Fumio Kyuma.
Due to advancements in military technology he asked, “Do they need bases in Henoko or Futenma?”
The OBRACC letter contains similar concerns.
The plan to relocate Futenma Air Station to Henoko has been around for more than 20 years.
There have been great changes in world affairs and technology in that time.
The base concentration on Okinawa creates ever more tension with China and other neighboring countries.
It is unreasonable to do something like establish a new base.
Such actions clearly run counter to the global trend toward reducing U.S. military stationing.
Those costs must not be allowed to fall heavily onto the shoulders of the taxpayers.
Special correspondent Yukiyo Zaha reports from Washington DC
On November 29, the Overseas Base Realignment and Closure Coalition (OBRACC), a group comprising U.S. intellectuals, former officials, and others published a statement calling for the closure of U.S. military bases in Europe, the Middle East, and other locations outside of the U.S., including Okinawa.
The statement explains that the roughly 800 U.S. military bases remaining around the world after the end of the Cold War are heightening military tension and antipathy towards the U.S. and causing environmental damage, and states that the bases should be closed from both a security perspective and a fiscal perspective.
At a meeting held in Washington DC on the 29th, American University professor David Vine and other coalition leaders explained that Okinawans are calling for base closures and a large-scale reduction of the U.S. military presence.
They problematized the massive military budget being used to build and maintain bases when the U.S. is experiencing a fiscal deficit and the fact that the base presence is increasing tension with neighboring countries such as China and Russia.
The statement’s forty signatories include Cato Institute Foreign Policy Studies Director John Glaser, retired Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, and retired Army Colonel Ann Wright.
The statement will be sent to President Donald Trump, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and members of Congress.
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