THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
December 20, 2024 at 14:17 JST
The U.S. Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo is surrounded by the municipalities of Fussa, Musashimurayama, Hamura, Tachikawa, Akishima and Mizuho in April 2023. (Takeshi Iwashita)
A large-scale investigation started on Dec. 20 at the U.S. Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo into a suspected leakage of water containing hazardous substances to surrounding residential areas.
The central government, the Tokyo metropolitan government, and governments of cities and towns around the air base are taking part in the investigation.
The leak is believed to have occurred in a firefighting training area of the base and may have carried perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl, harmful substances collectively known as PFAS, to the outside.
The investigators will seek an explanation from the U.S. side.
In October, the U.S. military informed the Defense Ministry about the leak.
“During heavy rainfall on Aug. 30, approximately 48,000 liters of water, including PFAS, overflowed onto the asphalt from the firefighting training area at the Yokota Air Base and likely went outside the site through storm water drains,” the U.S. report said.
The Tokyo metropolitan government and surrounding cities and towns asked the central government to investigate the impact of the incident on groundwater.
“It is extremely regrettable that information was not promptly provided more than a month after the incident,” the local governments said.
According to the Defense Ministry, it is unusual for the U.S. military to allow entry to its bases over PFAS leaks.
“We conducted the (inspection) with local concerns and anxieties in mind,” Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said at a news conference on Dec. 20. “We will work with the U.S. side to ensure that environmental measures are effective.”
The inspection on the base is being carried out by officials from the Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Environment Ministry, Tokyo metropolitan government, and the municipal governments of Fussa, Tachikawa, Akishima, Musashimurayama, Hamura and Mizuho.
(This article was written by Daisuke Yajima and Nobuhiko Tajima.)
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