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No need to hesitate to demand unconditional removal of Futenma base Akahata ‘Current’ column Many people who have been to Showa Kinen Park in Tachikawa City, Tokyo, may be impressed its size. When the U.S. Tachikawa Base site was returned to Japan, about 180 ha out of the total of 466 ha became a public park. The U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station is even larger than the Tachikawa base was, occupying 480 ha in the center of populated Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture. In the neighboring area, about 90,000 people are living and more than 120 public facilities, including schools and hospitals, are there. The first person who said that the Futenma base is the most dangerous U.S. base in the world in regard to civilian safety was former U.S. Secretary General Donald Henry Rumsfeld. In 2003, when he observed the base from the air, he commented that it is like having a military base located in the middle of Central Park in New York City and he wondered why there are not more accidents in such a place. In 2005, when Ginowan City Mayor Iha Yoichi visited Oceanside City, California, which hosts a U.S. military base, the city mayor stated, “The nearest residential area is located about 5 km away from the base. I wouldn’t want to live near the Futenma base because it’s scary.” When Iha visited Hawaii in 2008, the Honolulu City deputy mayor stated, “In Hawaii, it is impossible to permit construction in a clear zone due to safety reasons.” The clear zone is established around military bases in the U.S. to ensure that residential area will not be near the end of a runway. However, the clear zone in the Futenma base includes an area in Ginowan City where about 3,600 residents live. There is no need to hesitate to demand the unconditional removal of such a dangerous and controversial military base. |
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