Expansion work on the airstrip simulating an LHD deck, a flight deck of an amphibious assault ship, at Iejima Auxiliary Airfield was recently finished. The U.S. Marine Corps explained to Ie Village and the Okinawa Defense Bureau that Marine Corps F-35B vertical takeoff stealth fighter aircraft and CH-53 heavy-lift transport helicopters will begin training there in December. This is the first time that the U.S. has revealed which aircraft models will be used on the airstrip.
According to Ie Village, a person in charge at the U.S. Marine Corps visited Mayor Hideyuki Shimabukuro on November 20, informing him that extension work had been completed and about the operations set to start in December. U.S. officials explained that the F-35B, “will be used as a successor to the AV-8B Harrier II ground-attack aircraft,” a model of aircraft that had used the airstrip previously. Meanwhile, Ie Village personnel commented, “We recognize that the Harrier and the F-35 are different models of aircraft, and we are concerned about the burden increase.” A village representative said, “I would like to seek a more thorough explanation through the Okinawa Defense Bureau.”
On November 21, the U.S. provided similar information to the Okinawa Defense Bureau. In regard to aircraft used on the airstrip, the Bureau commented, “F-35B is included.” The Bureau stressed, “We asked [the U.S. military] to exercise maximum consideration for the local community when training.”
The “LHD deck” airstrip is a recreation of the flight deck of an amphibious assault ship, imitating features such as the control facilities and departure and arrival markings of the real thing.
Ie Village had requested several times that construction be cancelled because, “there is liable to be increased risk.” F-35Bs are currently stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
It is expected that vertical landing and short distance takeoff training will be conducted on the airstrip.
On November 22, the Okinawa Defense Bureau (ODB) continued with carrying in the materials over land needed for the new base construction related to the relocation of the U.S. military Futenma Air Station to Henoko, Nago City. Since resuming transportation of materials on November 16, there have been more than 100 construction vehicles every day carrying gravel into U.S. military Camp Schwab.
Citizens began sit-in protests in front of the gate from early in the morning. They commented that the new base construction is an act that destroys Okinawa’s future, and raised their fists up criticizing the government for forcing through the new base construction.
Citizens opposing the new base construction and criticizing the government for forcing through the construction on November 22 at a little past 9 a.m. in front of the U.S. military Camp Schwab gate in Henoko, Nago City.
At 9 a.m. as heavy-duty trucks and concrete mixing trucks began to line up in front of the gate, the prefectural riot policemen forcedly moved the citizens. A total of 39 construction vehicles carried in materials past the gate.
(English translation by T&CT and Chelsea Ashimine)
Couples that come to Okinawa from abroad to submit their wedding registration and receive their wedding certificates in civil ceremonies referred to as “legal weddings” continues to increase and is taking hold on the island. In 2017, there were 400 civil ceremonies involving visitors from abroad, up 2.5 times from the 2013’s total of 157. For couples, coming to Okinawa for a resort wedding and receiving a Japanese wedding certificate is seen as a status symbol. Over 90% of these civil ceremonies are couples from Hong Kong, where the Japanese marriage certificate is valid, and 2018 is looking to also be a strong year for those looking to have a destination wedding.
Okinawa began performing “legal marriages” 10 years ago, and the number of civil ceremonies has been gradually increasing ever since. Attracting mostly couples from Hong Kong who are enticed at events such as resort wedding fairs, Okinawa has made a specialty of such affairs and the numbers continue to rise. Through the first half of 2018 (Jan.-Jun.) there were 137 foreign-couple civil ceremonies. This has not quite reached the halfway mark of 2017, however the peak season for these wedding are in October and November, so expectations are that the second half figures will raise the total significantly.
In Hong Kong, a civil ceremony does not have to be performed in-country, and marriage certificates issued from Japan are popular. Of the 400 legal weddings in Okinawa in 2017, 388 of these involved couples from Hong Kong. For 2018 as well, 135 of the 137 weddings from the first half of the year were Hong Kong couples, accounting for an overwhelming majority of the total.
On November 21, a couple from Hong Kong, Kinsley Len, 35, and Silvia Kwan, 29, received their marriage certificate from Ginowan City Hall, after which they had their wedding reception at the Chura no Kyoikai (lit. “Beautiful Chapel”) run by the Good Luck Corporation in Ginowan. They had 25 guests of family and friends in attendance.
The couple saw the pictures of the sun and beaches of Okinawa as well as the beautiful chapel, and decided to have their wedding there after asking their families’ permission to have the civil ceremony. The two had visited big cities such as Osaka previously, but this was their first trip to Okinawa, and they stayed on the island for a week for sightseeing. They reflected happily, “We were moved by the beauty of the ocean. We want to come back in the summer to go swimming.”
On November 16 the International Conference Against U.S./NATO Military Bases commenced in Dublin, Ireland.
The conference is attended by around 230 people from roughly thirty countries and regions worldwide that, like Okinawa, suffer from environmental contamination, noise pollution, and other problems linked to U.S. military bases.
A unity statement was presented at the opening ceremony stating that wars led by the U.S. military and NATO have caused devastating environmental and health impacts on a global scale and calling for the removal of all U.S. military and NATO bases worldwide.
The conference is organized by the Global Campaign Against U.S./NATO Military Bases, an international organization composed of civic groups tackling U.S. military base-related problems from various countries.
On November 17, the second day of the conference, a discussion will be held regarding U.S. bases in Okinawa.
American Bahman Azad, one of the coordinators, told the Ryukyu Shimpo that he has heard that Okinawans are being forced into a lonely battle in Japan, and said that similar problems are occurring on a global scale and that he hopes to solve the problems through international solidarity and wishes to tell Okinawans that they have friends and allies worldwide.
On the first day of the conference, Nobel Peace Prize-winner Mairead Maguire, an activist working for a peaceful resolution to the problems in Northern Ireland, stated that war crimes are unforgivable and encouraged participants to aim to stop U.S. and NATO military expansion and realize a peaceful society through non-violence from an Ireland that upholds political neutrality.
Okinawa Peace Movement Center director Hiroji Yamashiro had planned to discuss the current situation in Okinawa at the conference on November 17, but was unable to attend because of health concerns.
Hiroshi Inaba, who is currently appealing charges of forceful obstruction of police activity for his protest actions against the construction of a new U.S. base in Okinawa, will attend the conference.
A demonstration was held prior to the conference’s opening ceremony.
Okinawa prefecture and the Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau hosted a conference to train international patient care coordinators on Nov.
14 at the Double Tree by Hilton Naha Shuri Castle.
The training was aimed at helping medical centers establish a system in which foreigners who require medical attention due to illnesses or injuries are properly cared for.
Local healthcare professionals learned the fundamentals of international patient care using case studies during the two-day event, which concluded on the 15th.
Following the increase in travelers from abroad, foreigners requiring medical assistance is on the rise. As issues stemming from language barriers and cultural differences are being reported, there is an increasing need for coordinators who can perform the key role of admitting international patients and coordinating with relevant parties within and outside hospitals.
Kinoe Tomohisa of JIGH, a global health and health care policy think tank, gave a lecture titled “Basic Admission Procedures for International Patients.”
She explained how the Japanese government is taking steps to attract tourists and labor from abroad, and that “the number of foreigners in Japan will continue to grow in the mid- to long-term. It’s becoming commonplace for non-Japanese patients to seek care at medical centers.”
JA Okinawa (Tsutomu Oshiro, chairman) has been hard at work creating momentum for their overseas sales of their agricultural and livestock products since April of this year.
At the start of 2018, the organization had a sales goal of 100 million yen, however as of the end of October they are reporting sales of 55.2 million yen, showing strong momentum to surpass that goal.
In particular, the livestock products consumed on cruise ships are popular, and they have shipped nine tons of Okinawan wagyu beef, and one ton of agu pork.
Additionally, cruise-liners are creating special sales booths on the ships, where local goods such as shikuwasa (a citrus) jelly and brown sugar are popular
Within their year-to-date totals, livestock goods such as meat total 44.38 million yen, processed goods such as drinks and brown sugar total 6.81 million yen, and fruits total just over 4 million yen.
In April and August of this year, JA partnered with the cruise liner and resort holding company Genting Hong Kong.
This has strengthened shipments to the four ships owned by Genting that call to port in Okinawa every week, and has increased exports.
By using these ships to ship goods, transportation costs are reduced, and they are also able to ship meet processed at the meat processing facilities within Okinawa.
From now, JA Okinawa is actively shipping winter to spring vegetables in an effort to further expand sales.
Meanwhile, the group is working to improve a bias against its meat, as well as unpopularity of the fatty agu pork. JA senior managing director Tomoe Futenma indicates, “Our task from now is to show how to prepare the meat, and educate customers about its nutrition and deliciousness.”
At the JA corporate office in Tsubogawa, Naha on November 19, the export strategy office chief Yoshinori Hamajo expressed confidence in their market expansion, reporting, “Even shipping to cruises all over Japan is not enough. It would be good to expand the created by shipping to cruises from Okinawa.”
Around 4:00 p.m. on November 15 in Ginowan City, a KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling aircraft flew in to Futenma Air Station and spent about 30 minutes flying at low altitudes over the area around the base.
On the same day, police in Ginowan City received emergency calls regarding damage suffered due to the base.
One such call included the complaint: “This is not a place for people to live. Every day I think must be in hell.”
Last week KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft flew in to Futenma on November 7 and 8, and over these two days the city received more than 10 complaints.
On November 8 Ginowan City officials explained to the Okinawa Defense Bureau (ODB) that, “Foreign planes flying in [to Futenma] have a huge effect on the lives of residents,” and proposed that US military flights to Futenma be prohibited.
On November 10 Ginowan Mayor Masanori Matsukawa took the opportunity in an interview with Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya to again request a ban on flights to Futenma Air Station.
Aircraft noise around Futenma Air Station after 10:00 p.m. at night has also intensified.
On November 14 at 11:56 p.m. at the Ojana Community Center the noise level was recorded at 89.5 decibels.
On November 15 a man living in Nagata telephoned Ginowan City at two minutes past midnight to say: “Just before midnight an Osprey circled and touched down on the runway.
The promise of no flights after 10:00 p.m. is being broken.”
to celebrate the completion of a new aircraft maintenance facility operated by MRO Japan at Naha airport.
The MRO facility has relocated from Osaka International Airport (Itami Airport) and will be operational beginning January 2019.
Naha Airport had the third highest number of flight routes among domestic airports in fiscal year 2016.
Due to increased volume in low-cost airline flights and domestic flights, higher demands in aircraft maintenance is expected.
Naha Airport is conveniently located for flights to and from Asia and is competitively positioned to answer to foreign demands; availability of Japanese-quality maintenance, an abundance of young labor as well as the warm climate allowing for undemanding maintenance were all deciding factors for relocation.
Local authorities expect the economic effects of the aircraft maintenance facility to reach 29.1 billion yen in the next decade.
Employees will be hired locally—the facility has employed 60 locals so far and has extended official offers to an additional 24.
They aim to hire around 400 employees.
The prefecture has invested 18.7 billion yen of its public works spending in building the maintenance facility.
The site is 29,396 square meters in size, while the hangar bay measures 189 meters wide and 99.85 meters deep.
It can accommodate one medium to heavy aircraft and three small aircrafts.
“We expect derived demand in parts manufacturing and repair,” said Governor Denny Tamaki.
“We have taken a step toward a new era for Okinawa, in which we will lead Japan’s economy.”
Azusa Sekkei president Fumihiko Sugitani, who also designed and supervised the project, further explained the resilience of the facility, which is “designed to withstand natural hazards including typhoons and salt sprays.”
While visiting Washington, on November 14 (November 15 in Japan) Governor Denny Tamaki met with Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mark Knapper and Acting Director for Japan in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Paul Vosti.
Governor Tamaki expressed Okinawa’s opposition to the construction of the new base in Henoko, Nago City following the relocation of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, and called for trilateral discussions between Okinawa, Japan, and the United States. U.S. officials have repeatedly stated that “Henoko is the only solution,” and there has been no clear response to the call for trilateral talks.
After the meeting, the Department of State issued a statement explaining that construction of the Futenma Replacement Facility is an unwavering commitment.
The first meeting between Governor Tamaki and U.S. government officials remains to be seen.
After the meeting Governor Tamaki told reporters, “As long as they say Henoko is the only option, this issue is deadlocked. In order to move a ship, the people in the position to steer the ship need to talk,” stressing the necessity of trilateral discussions.
Despite the fact that the prefectural people have repeatedly expressed opposition to construction of the new base through elections, the Japanese and the U.S. governments dismiss it.
Governor Tamaki warned, “The prefectural people are frustrated and dissatisfied with the steady U.S.-Japan alliance, to say nothing of matters such as base burden reduction efforts in Okinawa. Okinawans’ anxieties cannot be dispelled under such conditions.”
Governor Tamaki also explained that part of the land reclamation site is soft ground.
In order to change construction methods such as ground reinforcement, the Okinawa governor’s permission is necessary.
Tamaki said, “It will take more time to complete the construction,” but the U.S. government did not comment. He continued, “I want the U.S. and Japanese governments to remember that they are both involved parties, and are responsible for these issues.”
On the same day, Governor Tamaki also met with U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D), U.S. House Representative David Price (D), and U.S. Ambassador Shinsuke Sugiyama.
Governor Tamaki will conclude his 4-day visit to New York and Washington DC and will be on his way back on the 15th.
On the evening of November 11 in New York, Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki delivered a speech at New York University (NYU) on his first visit to the United States since taking office.
He strongly criticized the U.S. and Japanese governments for forcing through construction of the Futenma Replacement Facility in Henoko, Nago City, contrary to the popular will of Okinawa’s citizenry.
In addition, he called for U.S. citizens and Uchinanchu residing in America to make efforts to sway public opinion and move the U.S. government.
Governor Tamaki said: “The Japanese government is going to build the base, and the U.S. government is going to use it.
They have responsibility as concerned parties, yet the base is being forced on Okinawa.
Where should Okinawans deliver our voices? Where is democracy for Okinawa?”
His speech was sponsored by the Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) and was titled “The Power of Diversity and the Pride of Democracy in Okinawa.”
NYU Assistant Professor Annmaria Shimabukuro, a second-generation Okinawan, acted as director in organizing Governor Tamaki’s appearance.
Okinawan and Japanese people living in the U.S. numbering about 140 gathered at NYU to attend the speech.
“This confrontation is not due to anti-America or anti-U.S. base ideology; this is just our voice calling for ‘no more new bases in Okinawa.’”
Tamaki said.
He mentioned that Okinawa occupies only 0.6 percent of Japan’s land area, and presently, 73 years since the end of the war, 70.3 percent of U.S. bases in Japan for exclusive use by the U.S. Forces, Japan are concentrated on Okinawa.
Additionally, he expressed a sense of urgency in stopping construction of the new base, as it will soon come to a point where what is done cannot be undone.
Governor Tamaki emphasized a point of inconsistency, saying: “Unfortunately, there is a contradiction in that Japanese people champion the Japan-US security treaty, but don’t want the bases where they live. I should say this contradiction to democracy is imposed on Okinawa.”
Furthermore, Governor Tamaki spoke about the Japanese government using the Administrative Complaint Review Act to make ineffectual the OPG’s revocation of the land reclamation permit.
He stated that the law is designed for the Japanese people, but “the Japanese government twisted the intent of the law in order to proceed with construction works.”
New York – As part of his first official trip to the United States in office, Governor Denny Tamaki met with United Nations Under-Secretary-General of Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu on the evening of November 12 at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Governor Tamaki said to Nakamitsu, who is the first Japanese citizen to serve as Under-Secretary-General, which comes after the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General, “I would like to make Okinawa a buffer zone of peace for Asia.” To this end, Tamaki expressed his desire to hold a summit that gather female leaders and first ladies throughout Asia in Okinawa.
Nakamitsu was appointed policy chief of Disarmament Affairs in 2017, the first Japanese woman to hold the position.
Governor Tamaki expressed to Nakamitsu a need for creating an environment and policy that allows women in Okinawa to get involved, and cooperating with UN endeavors to achieve peace.
While Tamaki did not touch on the new base construction in Henoko, Nago City, he explained that “the two wheels of the cart are peace and the economy,” with regard to Okinawa’s history and current situation.
Nakamitsu reportedly responded, “Working as hard as one can to build peace is a great thing.”
That morning, Tamaki visited the offices of the non-profit independent news organization Democracy Now to observe the editing of their show, as well as to speak with host Amy Goodman about the U.S. military base issue in Okinawa.
Governor Tamaki traveled to his next stop in Washington D.C. on November 13.
On the 14th he plans to visit the U.S. Department of State, Department of Defense, Congress, and various think tanks to meet with representatives from each office.
Webcam(Kokusai Street)
