Japan Press Weekly

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2015 March 11 - 17 [POLITICS]

DefMin: No use meeting with Okinawa governor who opposes Henoko base construction

The Defense Minister has recently said that he does not want to meet with the Okinawa governor who opposes Tokyo’s plan to construct a new U.S. base in the prefecture. The minister’s dismissive attitude will further fuel anger among Okinawans toward the state.

Defense Minister Nakatani Gen on March 13 in front of the press criticized Okinawa Governor Onaga Takeshi for refusing to budge on issues concerning the planned U.S. base in the sea area off Nago’s Henoko district. The governor should give more consideration to Japan’s security issues, he added. Nakatani expressed reluctance to hold discussions with Onaga, saying that there is no use meeting with him as it will only lead to direct confrontation between Tokyo and Okinawa.

Governor Onaga is calling for the cancellation of the base construction based on voters’ support for his pledge to do this in the gubernatorial election last year.

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On March 14, Nakatani’s remark made the front page of Okinawa’s two major local newspapers. One of the two, the Okinawa Times, in its editorial condemned Nakatani, stating that he chooses to ignore the ABCs of democracy.

In front of a gate at U.S. Camp Schwab located in Henoko, where the government recently started boring surveys as preparation work for the construction of a new U.S. base, more than 100 people held a rally to express their anger over the remarks made by the Defense Minister.

A man from Okinawa City said that he is angry at Nakatani’s refusal to meet with Governor Onaga. He stressed, “Ignoring the governor is tantamount to disregarding Okinawans. What does the minister think of the demands of Okinawans?”

A representative of a local residents’ group commented, “Such an immature remark coming from a Cabinet minister makes me feel ashamed of my country’s leadership.”

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Akamine Seiken also joined the rally. Akamine said, “The rightist Abe government is dangerous, but Okinawans’ efforts are steadily pushing the administration to rethink its policies.”