Japan Press Weekly

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2026 September 9 - 15 [US FORCES]

US acknowledged its military bases in Japan as source of PFAS contamination, but Japanese gov’t covered it up

It was revealed on September 8 that, despite being informed by the U.S. military that it was acceptable to publicly announce that the U.S. Kadena Air Base and the U.S. Futenma Air Station in Okinawa were the source of PFAS contamination, the Japanese government covered up this information.

In December 2023, the U.S. side indicated that PFAS had seeped into the ground from firefighting training sites at the two bases, and acknowledged that they were the source of the contamination. However, the Ministry of Defense did not make this information public.

Speaking to reporters, Okinawa Governor Tamaki Denny said, “I’d like to ask the government to explain why it didn’t announce that the two bases were the source of the contamination.”

Asked at a press conference why the information had not been made public, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara Minoru declined to respond, stating, “Given the nature of the Japan-U.S. relationship, I will refrain from answering questions regarding the details of our exchanges.”

Machida Naomi, a member of a local civil group addressing the PFAS issue, said, “I can’t understand why the government hid this. The government should be angry that Japan’s water has been contaminated. Instead of using Japanese taxpayer money, the government should demand that the U.S. side pay for blood tests to be provided to local residents.”

Past related article:
> Meeting held to discuss PFAS problem in and near US bases in Japan [June 5, 2023]