Tamaki Seeks Okinawa-Tokyo-Washington Talks on Base Relocation

November 12, 2018

New York--Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki requested Sunday that three-way talks be held among his prefecture in southern Japan and the governments of Japan and the United States on a planned U.S. base relocation within Okinawa.

The governor, now visiting the United States for the first time since he took office in October, made the request during a speech at a university in New York.

Although U.S. military installations in Japan are concentrated in Okinawa, the Japanese government is trying to move ahead with the plan to transfer the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma base located in a densely populated area in the Okinawa city of Ginowan to a new facility to be built in the Henoko coastal area of Nago in the same prefecture, Tamaki explained in the speech.

"Some 60-70 pct of the people in Okinawa are opposed to this plan," Tamaki said. "Very regrettably, there is no politician in Japan or the United States who accepts this will of the people and responsibly seeks a resolution."

"Even though we're under pressure regarding the base relocation plan, we won't give up on holding dialogue," he said, asking Washington to urge Tokyo to hold three-way talks among them plus Okinawa.

After the speech, the governor told reporters that the three-way dialogue should definitely be realized.

Tamaki did not touch on the timing of a referendum to be held in Okinawa on whether to support or oppose the Futenma base transfer.

But he said the referendum will have real meaning, as a related prefectural ordinance stipulates that its outcome be reported to the leaders of Japan and the United States if the number of ballots cast for the winning side is equivalent to a quarter or more of the total number of eligible voters. Jiji Press