Photo/Illutration The central government started work to reclaim an area north of Henoko Point in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, in January. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Twenty-one governors said the burden of U.S. bases shouldered by Okinawa Prefecture should be reduced, but none would be willing to accept one relocating to their prefectures, according to a new survey.

The 21 include Saitama Governor Motohiro Ono, who said U.S. military facilities occupy an extremely high percentage of the southwestern island prefecture’s land area.

Okinawa Prefecture, which represents only 0.6 percent of Japan’s land area, hosts 70.3 percent of facilities exclusively used by the U.S. military in the nation.

Akita Governor Norihisa Satake said a system needs to be established to share the burden across Japan.

However, no governor said their prefecture was willing to relieve Okinawa's burden by taking over a U.S. base. 

The Asahi Shimbun and The Okinawa Times conducted the survey of 46 governors, excluding Okinawa Prefecture, about government plans to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to Henoko Point in Nago in the same prefecture.

The two newspapers received responses by early March.

Shimane Governor Tatsuya Maruyama cited as a reason for his prefecture's unwillingness to host a U.S. base the central government’s failure to address noise problems caused by Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture in surrounding prefectures such as Shimane.

Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura said he intends to consult with municipal governments if his prefecture receives a request from the central government.

His predecessor, Toru Hashimoto, said about 15 years ago that he would consider accepting the Futenma air base in the Kansai region, only to abandon the idea following a backlash from other prefectures in the region and municipal governments in his prefecture.

In January, the central government started work to reclaim an area north of Henoko Point for the base relocation project after overriding Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki’s disapproval of design changes through administrative subrogation the previous month.

Forty-three governors said they cannot say whether the Henoko relocation project is appropriate or did not provide an answer.

Similarly, 42 governors said they cannot say if the central government’s use of administrative subrogation was appropriate or did not provide an answer.

Many of the respondents who did not choose between appropriate or inappropriate said they refrain from answering those questions because national security falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the central government.

Only Iwate Governor Takuya Tasso chose “inappropriate, if anything” for both questions.

He said problems “should be resolved through consultation and dialogue” and called on the central government to renegotiate the relocation project with the United States.

As for the administrative subrogation system, Tasso said a local government’s judgment based on the interests of residents should be respected.

The governors of Aomori, Akita and Gunma said the use of administrative subrogation was appropriate.

Satake, the Akita governor, said he does not believe that the process, which is designed to ensure that the central government can appropriately deal with issues, goes against the spirit of decentralization reforms.

Satake chose “appropriate, if anything” for the question on the relocation project, while Gunma Governor Ichita Yamamoto selected “appropriate.”

(This article was written by Kazuyuki Ito and Kazuki Uechi.)

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