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Bitter Soup For Okinawans - The Governor's Year-End Betrayal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

Gavan McCormack
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In and around Okinawa, events of unparalleled importance continue to unfold, with implications for Japan, the US-Japan and US-Japan-China relationships, and for peace and democracy generally. As former Governor Ota Masahide foresaw earlier in the year, 2013 turned out to be “the worst ever (obviously excluding the utter catastrophe of 1945) for Okinawa.”

Type
Research Article
Information
Asia-Pacific Journal , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , e2
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Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
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Copyright © The Authors 2014

References

Notes

1 “‘Okinawa wa seijiteki shichikusa’ Ota moto chiji ni kiku,” Okinawa taimusu, 9 March 2013.

2 “Agaon Okinawa: Japan-Okinawa-US relations in a Time of Turmoil,” The Asia-Pacific Journal – Japan Focus, 25 November 2013, and “‘Okinawa Again’ - Okinawa Special Series - A Postscript,” The Asia-Pacific Journal – Japan Focus, 1 December 2013.

3 The only publicly accessible record of this meeting appears to be the following, although it is exceedingly brief: Okinawa seisaku kyogikai, “Giji gaiyo,” 17 December 2013. The details that follow, therefore, are compiled from Okinawan and national media sources.

4 Quoted in “Kyo ‘shonin hyomei’ kengai koyaku hoki suru no ka,” Okinawa taimusu, 27 December 2013.

5 “Consolidation Plan for Facilities and Areas in Okinawa,” April 2013.

6 “Futenma teishi yokyu, kuchisaki no karayakusoku wa tsujnai,” editorial, Ryukyu shimpo, 21 December 2013.

7 Heianna Sumio, “Bei Futenma 5 nen teishi kobamu, 11 gatsu kyokucho kyu kaigi,” Okinawa taimusu, 1 January 2014.

8 Matsumoto Takeshi, “Henoko umetate shonin ‘bundan’ katan no omoi sekinin,” Tokubetsu hyoron, Ryukyu shimpo, 27 December 2013.

9 A Pentagon spokesman commented, “We do not agree to any revision [of SOFA] and have no thought to begin negotiations about it hereafter,” quoted in “Futenma teishi no yokyu, kuchisaki no kara yakusoku wa tsujinai,” Ryukyu shimpo, 21 December 2013.

10 Kyodo, “Japan mulls talks with US on earlier relocation of Futenma air base,” Japan Times, 21 December 2013.

11 See Sakurai Kunitoshi, “Environmental restoration of former US military bases in Okinawa,” The Asia-Pacific Journal – Japan Focus, 25 November 2013.

12 Shusho kantei, “Nakaima Okinawa ken chiji to no mendan,” 25 December 2013.

13 For details: Shusho kantei, “Nakaima Okinawa ken chiji to no mendan,” 25 December 2013.

14 For the former, Gavan McCormack and Satoko Oka Norimatsu, Resistant Islands: Okinawa Confronts Japan and the United States, 2012, p. 163, and for the latter, “Chiji, Henoko umetate shonin, jinin ni genkyu sezu,” Ryukyu shimpo, 28 December 2013.

15 Heianna, op. cit.

16 “‘Kogu’ wa insho sosaku da kichi kyoyo no seitoka yameyo,” Ryukyu shimpo, 25 December 2013.

17 Ibid. and Wikipedia for ranking details.

18 “‘Naha kuko umetate’ kenen mo haramitsutsu aru,” Okinawa taimusu, editorial, 21 September 2013.

19 “Naha kuko F15, kassoro zosetsu de hiko 5000 kai zo,” Okinawa taimusu, 21 September 2013.

20 Ibid.

21 “‘Futenma’ seron chosa” min-i o shimesu omoi suji da,“ Okinawa taimusu, 13 April 2013.

22 “Henoko ‘fushonin’ 64%, umetate hantai tsuyoku,” Okinawa taimusu, 17 December 2013.

23 “Chiji shonin fushiji 61%, koyaku ihan 72%, Shimpo, OTV chosa,” Ryukyu shimpo, 30 December 2013. By contrast, majority (56%) mainland opinion supported the Governor's decision. (“Chiji shonin to seron, ‘mo, damasarenai’ sokokatai Henoko No no min –i,” Ryukyu shimpo, 31 December 2013

24 “Chiji umetate shonin, sokkoku jishoku shin o toe, min-i ni somuku rekishiteki oten,” editorial, Ryukyu shimpo, 28 December 2013. Here I am quoting from the translation by Mark Ealey posted on the newspaper site on 1 January 2014 under the heading “Okinawa Governor Nakaima should resign for betraying the Okinawan people by approving the Henoko landfill.”

25 “‘Henoko yonin ‘yukensha damasu jimin kenren toin mo hihan,” Mainichi shimbun, 1 December 2013.

26 “Futangen no tanpo, chiji amai, Onaga ken shichokaicho ga hihan,” Okinawa taimusu, 27 December 2013.

27 “Henoko yonin, Naha shicho ‘sabishii omoi’,” Okinawa taimusu, 2 December 2013.

28 “Naha shigikai ikensho, minshuteki seitosei wa Okinawa ni,” Ryukyu shimpo, 3 December 2013.

29 Komeito Okinawa-ken honbu, “Beigun Futenma hikojo isetsu mondai ni kansuru teigen,” 13 December 2013.

30 “Okinawa o kataru: Kinjo Tsutomu san (62) Komeito honbu kanjicho,” Okinawa taimusu, 15 December 2013

31 “Kakon, mujun, hyoka mo,” Ryukyu shimpo, 28 December 2013. (Figures based on my reading of the opinion statements provided by the 41 officials).

32 See, for example, Urashima, op. cit.