Eighteen years following the bilateral agreement between Japan and the United States, the relocation process for U.S. Marines stationed in Okinawa has formally commenced.

However, this initial phase involves only about 100 personnel and a timeline for completion remains unspecified. Without a tangible reduction in the heavy U.S. military presence, a burden felt acutely by local residents, the stable operation of the bases will likely be challenging.

Under the terms of the 2006 agreement, subsequently revised in 2012, approximately 9,000 personnel were scheduled for relocation, with a contingent of more than 4,000 designated for transfer to Guam.

In explaining the stalled progress, officials have pointed to delays in constructing essential infrastructure in Guam to accept Marines, such as barracks and training facilities, attributed to labor shortages and other factors, but there is no denying that the overall pace of the relocation has been sluggish.

Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, during his recent visit to Okinawa where he announced the start of the relocation, touted the partial transfer as a “major milestone.”

However, he noted that plans for the second phase and beyond are still under U.S. consideration and nothing definitive can be stated at this time.

Japan has contributed a substantial amount of funding--around 373 billion yen ($2.3 billion)--for facility development in Guam and other areas.

If the government is genuinely serious about completing the relocation promptly, it should not leave matters entirely to the United States; instead, it should take a more proactive approach to calling on Washington to expedite the process.

Okinawa Prefecture bears a disproportionate burden, hosting 70 percent of all exclusively U.S. military facilities in Japan, even under normal circumstances.

With escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the region has been thrust onto the front lines of the U.S.-China rivalry.

Simultaneously, the Self-Defense Forces have rapidly expanded their presence, establishing numerous garrisons on the Sakishima islands, part of the southern island prefecture, conducting more joint exercises with the U.S. military, and exploring the use of civilian airports and seaports for military purposes.

In his talks with Nakatani, Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki conveyed his opposition to the idea of deploying long-range missiles in Okinawa capable of striking enemy bases, saying it would “add to the burden of hosting military bases” borne by the prefecture.

Tokyo and Washington must collaboratively develop a plan to manage the new burdens resulting from their joint "southwestern shift," a strategic realignment intended to counter China.

Meanwhile, crimes and accidents involving the U.S. military continue to occur, including sexual assaults by U.S. military personnel and accidents such as crashes of the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft capable of both vertical takeoffs and landings.

Each time such an incident occurs, the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)--which grants a range of significant privileges to U.S. forces in Japan--comes under renewed scrutiny. Okinawa Prefecture has consistently demanded a comprehensive revision of the agreement.

In September, during a speech in Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, one of the Liberal Democratic Party presidential candidates who spoke in the event, clearly stated, “I will embark on reviewing the SOFA (if I am elected as new LDP chief and then prime minister).”

He added, “I don’t believe that merely improving its implementation will be enough.”

Ishiba also mentioned the idea of jointly managing U.S. bases with the SDF.

However, since taking office, he has remained silent, explaining that, “There is no mechanism by which what was said during the presidential election can be carried out without change.”

Consistent with the policy upheld by previous administrations, he remains committed to proceeding with the controversial U.S.-Japan project to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from the crowded city of Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area in Nago, another city in Okinawa Prefecture, despite local opposition.

If he raises hopes among the people of Okinawa yet fails to take action to deliver on his promise, any talk of “working to reduce the burden” will ring hollow.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 22