Japan Press Weekly

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2026 October 28 - November 3 [POLITICS]

JCP Tamura: Gov’t should urge US to address US base-related PFAS contamination

Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko on October 27 demanded that the Japanese and U.S. governments bear the costs of addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination around U.S. military bases in Okinawa Prefecture. She also called on the Japanese government to conduct an on-site investigation and make decontamination efforts in the prefecture.

At a meeting of the House of Representatives Security Committee, Tamura presented a report on PFAS sample surveys which the U.S. military carried out at the U.S. Kadena base between 2014 and 2017. According to Tamura, the sample survey in July 2014, for example, detected 90,000 nanograms of PFOS (a type of PFAS), 1,800 times greater than the Japanese government-set standards.

Tamura referred to news reports that at the Japan-U.S. consultations in 2023, the U.S. side acknowledged that PFAS contamination had been likely caused by firefighting drills at its military bases and informed the Japanese government that this information could be made public. She asked about the government’s response to this issue. Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro repeatedly declined to provide details regarding discussions with the U.S. side.

Tamura pointed out that at Self-Defense Forces bases, such as the Maritime SDF Shimofusa Air Base and the Air SDF Tuiki Air Base, the ministry is implementing measures against PFAS pollution, including installing hazardous material removal systems and equipment using granular activated carbon. She stressed that the government should urge the U.S. side to take the same action at its military facilities. She also demanded that the government urge the U.S. military to accept on-site investigation requests.

Past related article:
> US acknowledged its military bases in Japan as source of PFAS contamination, but Japanese gov’t covered it up [September 9, 2026]