Photo/Illutration A former golf course site in Uruma, Okinawa Prefecture, where the Defense Ministry planned to build a training ground for the Ground Self-Defense Force (Satsuki Tanahashi)

The Defense Ministry called a full retreat on a plan to build a Ground Self-Defense Force training site in Okinawa Prefecture in the face of strong local opposition, government sources said on Feb. 29.

"The plan should go back to the drawing board, it will not gain support, even with modifications,” said Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, reacting to the ministry's reported decision. “A wise decision is needed."

The decision underscored the challenges facing Japan’s ongoing efforts to bolster its defenses in the nation's southwestern islands, in response to China's growing military presence in the region.

The ministry planned to acquire approximately 20 hectares of land at a former golf course site in Uruma in the fiscal year starting April.

Building a training ground at the site was part of the expansion of the GSDF presence in the prefecture, including a planned upgrade of its Naha-based 15th Brigade into a larger division.

The proposed fiscal 2024 budget includes 47.3 billion yen ($314.3 million) for SDF facilities in the prefecture including the Uruma training site.

Ministry officials met on Feb. 28 to discuss alternative plans, including using the site for other purposes, or finding another location for the training ground.

The proposed site lies next to residential areas and educational facilities. Local communities demanded the plan be scrapped over concerns of noise and the potential for accidents.

Tamaki called for cancellation of the plan when he met with Defense Minister Minoru Kihara in Naha on Feb. 17.

"The site does seem to be close (to residential areas)," Kihara admitted after the meeting.

Faced with rapidly growing opposition, local politicians from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party also reversed course and joined the calls against the plan.

“It is difficult to achieve a consensus in the current situation,” said Dai Shimabukuro, a senior official of the LDP’s Okinawa branch, at a prefectural assembly session on Feb. 27.

His remarks come as LDP members are concerned about the issue’s potential impact on the crucial prefectural assembly election in June.

(This article was written by Nobuhiko Tajima and Taro Ono.)

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