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HOME  > Past issues  > 2012 June 27 - July 3  > Osprey deployment reveals true nature of Japan-US security treaty
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2012 June 27 - July 3 [US FORCES]

Osprey deployment reveals true nature of Japan-US security treaty

June 30, 2012
Using the bilateral security treaty, the U.S. government on June 29 notified Japan of its plan to deploy the MV22 Osprey aircraft to Japan.

On the previous day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Fujimura Osamu announced that the U.S. forces will deploy the Ospreys in Okinawa as planned. In a meeting with Shimoji Mikio, People’s New Party secretary general, Fujimura said, “We negotiated with Washington many times. However, we were unable to get them to suspend the plan. They claimed that the Japan-U.S. military treaty gives them the right to deploy the Ospreys.”

Defense Minister Morimoto Satoshi also said that under the military treaty, Japan has no right to judge the pros and cons of a deployment of Ospreys to Japan.

These remarks by high ranking government officials shed light on the true nature of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty which enables the U.S. military to place their troops and military equipment anywhere in Japan and use them freely in accordance with its strategy.

The existence of the bilateral security treaty enables the U.S. government to give the Japanese government a Host Nation Notification, an official notice of the Osprey deployment, even though it is aware of concerns and objections expressed by local residents and local governments regarding its deployment.

Only by resorting to using the provisions in can the U.S. get away with the deployment without having to proof its legitimacy.

If the two governments forcibly carry out the deployment plan, people throughout Japan will begin to ask hard questions regarding the legitimacy and very necessity of the continuance of the bilateral treaty.
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