Photo/Illutration A Ground Self-Defense Force Osprey is seen on April 14 at the GSDF’s Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture where the tilt-rotor transport aircraft is temporarily stationed. (Satoshi Juyanagi)

SAGA--A landowners association has decided to sell property next to Saga Airport here, clearing the way for a controversial new Ground Self-Defense Force base for Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft.

At a meeting on May 1, more than two-thirds of around 250 members of the Saga prefectural fisheries cooperative federation, including local seaweed farmers, agreed to sell the land to the Defense Ministry.

The meeting was held at the Minami-Kawasoe branch of the Saga prefectural fisheries cooperative federation. 

Local opposition has centered on concerns that the construction of the GSDF base could adversely impact seaweed farming in the Ariake Sea off the coast of Saga Airport.

The land where the new base will be built is currently being used for agricultural purposes.

Locals argue that the large-scale construction, which will involve paving a 33-hectare site, could harm the quality of the seawater and hurt seaweed farming.

Some association members are considering taking legal action against the sale. They argue that agreement from all members of the association is legally required for the sale to proceed.

However, the decision at the meeting means that the ministry’s plan to deploy the Osprey in Saga Prefecture will move forward.

The ministry’s Kyushu Defense Bureau has already started researching the land including conducting survey work.

The ministry will begin constructing the base once it completes the acquisition of the property.

The GSDF plans to deploy 17 Osprey aircraft, which the government is purchasing from the United States, and around 50 helicopters that are currently stationed at Camp Metabaru in Saga Prefecture at the new base.

Under the plan, the GSDF base will use Saga Airport’s runaway.

In 2014, the ministry asked the Saga prefectural government, the operator of the airport, to accept its plan to deploy the Osprey at the new base.

The ministry told the prefectural government that the aim of the plan was to enable the GSDF to respond quickly in the event of a crisis.

The aircraft would transport troops based in Camp Ainoura in Nagasaki Prefecture who are entrusted with protecting remote islands to the southwest islands, a long string of islands stretching between the Kyushu region and Taiwan.

In 2018, the prefectural government announced that it would accept the plan.

However, the plan didn’t move forward due to strong opposition from the local fisheries cooperative members who are owners of the land.

So, the ministry has deployed the Osprey aircraft it has already purchased from the United States at GSDF’s Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture as a five-year temporary measure.

As the five-year period will end in July 2025, the ministry had continued negotiations with the cooperative members. 

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