{"id":7118,"date":"2010-05-17T16:07:47","date_gmt":"2010-05-18T00:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/?p=7118"},"modified":"2010-05-17T16:07:47","modified_gmt":"2010-05-18T00:37:47","slug":"the-futenma-base-and-the-u-s-japan-controversy-an-okinawan-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/?p=7118","title":{"rendered":"The Futenma Base and the U.S.-Japan Controversy: an Okinawan perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/articles\/print_article\/3354\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"one_article_id\">\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/-Yoshio-SHIMOJI\/3354\">http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/-Yoshio-SHIMOJI\/3354<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Futenma Base and the  U.S.-Japan Controversy: an Okinawan perspective<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Yoshio SHIMOJI<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the conclusion of the  revised Japan-U.S. Mutual Security Treaty (Ampo). The original treaty  was signed on September 8, 1951, the same day the San Francisco Peace  Treaty was signed. One of its provisions stipulated that Japan must  guarantee the U.S. the same stable use of military bases as it did under  the occupation. Without accepting that requirement, Japan could never  have won its independence.<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" width=\"300\" align=\"right\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"position: relative; display: block; padding: 10px;\" rel=\"lightbox\" href=\"http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/data\/3698_1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/data\/3698_1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"186\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Yoshida Shigeru signs the San  Francisco Treaty for Japan<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"position: relative; display: block; padding: 10px;\" rel=\"lightbox\" href=\"http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/data\/7082_2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/data\/7082_2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"234\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Dean Acheson signs the San  Francisco Treaty for the United States<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>This stipulation was carried over to the revised Mutual Security  Treaty of 1960 (Article 6) and with it the U.S. has been assured of its  continued formidable military presence in Japan, dominating its sea,  land and air space to this day.<\/p>\n<p>Japan&#8217;s independence was also achieved at the cost of Okinawa, which  was kept under harsh military administration until the reversion of its  administrative rights to Japan in 1972. But even after reversion, the U.  S. bases in Okinawa remained intact. Today, the negative side of the  Japan-U.S. Mutual Security Treaty appears most conspicuously in Okinawa,  where 75 percent of U.S. bases and facilities in Japan are  concentrated. Although those bases and facilities (totaling 85 in  number, and 31,000 ha in area) are formally offered to U.S. Forces under  the Security Treaty, they are in essence spoils which U.S. forces won  in war.<\/p>\n<p>From Okinawa&#8217;s perspective, Japan&#8217;s independence appears only an  illusion. Japan is still a semi-independent or client nation unable to  challenge Uncle Sam\u2019s demands; hence, Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio&#8217;s  wish list in his inaugural speech showcasing, among other things, the  desire to make Japan a partner equal to the U.S.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Early history of Ginowan City<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, currently a hot issue  straining the Japan-U.S. relationship because of the dispute over its  relocation, is located in the middle of densely populated Ginowan City.  Houses cluster closely around the fences close together, even abutting  the approach lights on both sides of the runway. This unbelievable  situation has something to do with the city&#8217;s post-war history.<\/p>\n<p>While the battle was still going on in the south, the invading U.S.  Army encroached upon large swaths of land in the central part of the  island, where villages, farmland, school yards and cemeteries existed  cheek by jowl with each other. The people who surrendered or survived  the battle were herded into concentration camps, mostly in the north.<\/p>\n<p>When they were allowed to return home a few years after the war  ended, many people from central Okinawa found their hometowns and  villages turned into vast military bases. Reluctantly, they began to  live alongside barbed-wire fences, some earning a meager livelihood by  working for the bases. This is how Ginowan City, which now surrounds the  Futenma Air Station, came into being [1].<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" width=\"300\" align=\"left\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"position: relative; display: block; padding: 10px;\" rel=\"lightbox\" href=\"http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/data\/3335_3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/data\/3335_3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"229\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Futenma Air Station occupies 25%  of densely populated Ginowan City<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>In response to the strong demand of the residents of Ginowan for its  closure because of various hazards it poses, Japan and the U.S. struck a  deal in 1996 to close the base and return the land when a suitable  relocation site was found elsewhere on the island.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Henoko as a site for relocation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Apparently, from early on, the U.S. had Henoko in mind as a site for  the relocation. The Marine Corps Okinawa submitted a blueprint every  fiscal year to the Pentagon and eventually to the U.S. Congress for  approval in the 1960&#8217;s, with an air station and port facilities to be  constructed on reclaimed land off the coast at Henoko. Whether it would  be a replacement for Futenma or an outright new air base is not clear,  but the design for its functions was the same as the current V-shaped  runway plan set forth in the United States-Japan Roadmap for Realignment  Implementation agreed in 2006 (hereafter called 2006 Road Map): to  integrate the newly constructed air base with Camp Hansen, Camp Schwab  and the central and northern training areas, thus strengthening military  functions (as had been the plans for Okinawan bases during the Vietnam  War) and deterrence capability against North Korea, China or Russia  today [2].<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" width=\"300\" align=\"right\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"position: relative; display: block; padding: 10px;\" rel=\"lightbox\" href=\"http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/data\/5371_4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/data\/5371_4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"291\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Map showing Futenma and Henoko  sites<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>However, the &#8217;60&#8217;s plan didn&#8217;t materialize, probably because the U.S.  Congress didn&#8217;t pass the bill for the necessary appropriations due to  skyrocketing expenditure on the Vietnam War, as Masaaki Gabe suggests  [3], or because U.S. lawmakers were afraid the whole project would prove  useless if Okinawa were returned to Japan in the future. The situation  is totally different today, however. If all goes according to Pentagon  plans, Tokyo will shoulder all the expenses for land reclamation and the  construction of runways and other facilities, not to mention the  high-end equipment, as well as the cost of relocating thousands of US  troops to Guam.<\/p>\n<p>The Futenma issue started as part of the 1995 Special Actions  Committee on Okinawa (SACO) initiative to reduce burdens on Okinawa. But  fifteen years later, the burdens remain as heavy, nor will they be  lightened if Futenma&#8217;s operations are moved to another location within  Okinawa. Moving the base around in Okinawa or, more broadly, in Japan  will clearly signal that Tokyo has yet again consented to a permanent  U.S. military presence or &#8220;a life-of-the-alliance presence for U.S.  forces&#8221; in Japan (2006 Road Map) , a transparent cover term for the  unlimited occupation of Japan. This must be prevented by all means. This  is the essential issue concerning Futenma, one which cuts to the very  heart of the U.S-Japan strategic alliance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Marines and Washington&#8217;s explanation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Washington persists in saying that Henoko is the best site for the  relocation of Futenma if Japan wishes to continue to maintain the  American military deterrence capability, warning that contingencies  could occur in the Pacific region, for example, in the Korean Peninsula  or the Taiwan Straits, requiring the Marines&#8217; presence as essential  deterrence.<\/p>\n<p>On January 6, 2010, the U.S. Marine Corps Okinawa announced its  position on the relocation of Futenma. In order to counter contingencies  effectively, a helicopter squadron must be deployed within a 20-minute  distance from a base where ground forces are standing by. This is why  they claim Futenma&#8217;s function must be relocated to Henoko, which is  adjacent to Camp Schwab and Camp Hansen where the Marines&#8217; ground troops  are stationed.<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" width=\"300\" align=\"right\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"position: relative; display: block; padding: 10px;\" rel=\"lightbox\" href=\"http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/data\/5593_5.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/data\/5593_5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"201\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Aerial photograph of Cape Henoko<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Note that this is an argument based on tactical rather than strategic  reasoning.<\/p>\n<p>According to this explanation, a helicopter squadron must pick up  ground troops in 20 minutes and transport them to the frontline in a  short span of time (perhaps one hour). But can one realistically imagine  such a situation in and around Okinawa Island? Do the Marines think a  ground battle similar to the World War II Battle of Okinawa will be  replicated in the southern section of this island? Is Okinawa still a  war zone in their thinking?<\/p>\n<p>Suppose war occurred in the Korean Peninsula and the Marines from  Okinawa successfully landed there in one hour. Would 17,000 Marines go  into battle against North Korea&#8217;s 1.2 million standing army? The same  issue pertains to the Taiwan Straits. As is well known, China has a 1.6  million regular army. Or can they function as a bulwark against  potential missile attacks, say, by North Korea, China or Russia?<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the Marines alone may not work as deterrents against  outside threats; they may be an integral part of the USF Japan together  with the Navy and the Air Force. However, if contingencies occurred in  the Korean Peninsula or in the Taiwan Straits, they would certainly have  to increase their number substantially, probably to 500,000 troops at a  minimum. But assembling troops takes several weeks or even months as  the Persian Gulf War and the initial stage of the Iraq War demonstrated.<\/p>\n<p>Consequently, the explanation by the Marines and Washington that a  helicopter squadron must be deployed within a 20-minute distance from a  base where ground forces stand by and, therefore, the claim that Henoko  is the best relocation site for Futenma&#8217;s operations lacks credibility.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Marines aren&#8217;t here to defend Japan<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Okinawan press reports that Camp Hansen (Kin) and Camp Schwab  (Henoko) are both empty shells these days because their occupants were  deployed to Iraq and now to Afghanistan to fight against insurgents  there.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, the U.S. Marines or the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, to  be more specific, are stationed in Okinawa not to defend Japan as  ballyhooed but simply to hone their assault skills in preparation for  combat elsewhere. It&#8217;s a cozy and easy place to train, with Tokyo  providing prodigious financial aid, which Washington demands in the name  of \u201chost nation support.\u201d I liken it to turf dues exacted by an  organized crime syndicate, which offers protection from rival gangs.<\/p>\n<p>In 2003, for example, Japan&#8217;s direct &#8220;host nation support&#8221; amounted  to $3,228.43 million or $4,411.34 million if indirect support is added.  Compare these figures with Germany&#8217;s and Korea&#8217;s support. Germany&#8217;s  direct host nation support in the same year was $28.7 million (1\/112th  that of Japan) and indirect support $1.535.22 million. Korea&#8217;s direct  host nation support in that same year was $486.31 million (about 1\/7th  that of Japan) and indirect support $356.5 million [4].<\/p>\n<p>For ten years from 2001 through 2010, Japan shouldered an average  annual sum of $2,274 million for host nation support [5], which  incidentally is known as &#8220;sympathy budget&#8221; as if Japan were voluntarily  doling out money out of compassion for those U.S. service members who  are deployed in this far-away country. The amount Japan has financed to  support USF Japan operations since the system started in 1978 totals an  astounding $30 billion.<\/p>\n<p>That the Marines are based in Okinawa not to defend Japan but mainly  to strengthen U.S. interests in the Asia-Pacific and beyond is widely  recognized, as the following quotation from GlobalSecurity.org suggests:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThe Regiment (3rd Battalion 6th Marines) continues to support <em>the  defense of the Nation<\/em> by maintaining forces in readiness in  support of contingency operations and unit deployments to the  Mediterranean, Pacific rim and around the globe.\u201d(Italics mine)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Pundit Kevin Rafferty is more direct saying, &#8220;some of the bases (in  Japan) are staging-posts for deployment in Afghanistan and elsewhere  [6].&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>When Marine contingents were compelled to move out of Gifu and  Yamanashi Prefectures in mainland Japan in the face of mounting  anti-U.S. base demonstrations and moved to Okinawa in the 1950&#8217;s, a  number of Pentagon strategists are reported to have cast doubt on the  wisdom of such a shift.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Army was the major element in the U.S. Forces in Okinawa  during the occupation period which ended in 1972 with reversion.  Apparently, the Army recognized the limited value of being stationed in  Okinawa and so withdrew, leaving behind only a few hundred troops. The  Marines grabbed this chance to expand their role and function, taking  over everything from the departing Army. They are not, however,  deterrents against outside &#8220;threats&#8221; as they boast.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Guam Integrated Military Development Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Washington has remained adamant in insisting that Futenma&#8217;s  operations be moved to Henoko. On meeting Foreign Affairs Minister Okada  Katsuya in Tokyo last October, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates  urged Tokyo to implement the agenda specified in the 2006 Road Map as  soon as possible.<\/p>\n<p>In return, Washington would relocate to Guam 8,000 (later modified to  8,600) Marine personnel, consisting mostly of command elements: 3rd  Marine Expeditionary Force Command Element, 3rd Marine Logistics Group  Headquarters, 1st Marine Air Wing Headquarters, and 12th Marine Regiment  Headquarters. The remaining Marines in Okinawa would then be task force  elements such as ground, aviation, logistics and other service support  members.<\/p>\n<p>Japan agreed under pressure to fund $6.09 billion of the estimated  $10.27 billion for the facilities and infrastructure development costs \u2014  another example of extortion. Upon completion of the relocation of  Futenma&#8217;s function to Henoko and the transfer of the Marine command  units to Guam, the U.S. would return six land areas south of Kadena Air  Base, including the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. In trying to sell  this package, Washington claims that this reduces Okinawa&#8217;s burdens  tremendously.<\/p>\n<p>Note, however, that these lands will be returned only if their  replacements are found somewhere within Okinawa: for example, Henoko for  Futenma, the very question which is straining the bilateral  relationship. The 2006 Road Map clearly states: &#8220;All functions and  capabilities that are resident in facilities designated for return, and  that are required by forces remaining in Okinawa, will be relocated  within Okinawa. These relocations will occur before the return of  designated facilities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This is the gist of the 2006 agreement particular to bases on  Okinawa. However, a curious situation has developed over the U.S. Forces  realignment. Two months after the 2006 Road Map was agreed, the U.S.  Pacific Command announced the Guam Integrated Military Development Plan,  and on September 15, 2008 the Navy Secretary, who also represents the  Marines when dealing with Congress, submitted a report titled &#8220;Current  Situation with the Military Development Plan in Guam&#8221; to the Chairman of  the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services [7]. In  April 2008, this plan was entirely incorporated into the &#8220;Guam  Integrated Master Plan,&#8221; and in November, 2009 a public hearing was held  on a &#8220;Draft Environmental Impact Statement\/ Overseas Environmental  Impact Statement [8].&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>These documents show that the U.S. military considers Guam  strategically most important in the Asia-Pacific region and plans to  transform already existing bases there into a colossal military complex  by expansion and development. The U.S. military&#8217;s strategic thinking is  apparently motivated by the rise of China, particularly by China&#8217;s  development of new types of long-range missiles. The plan includes  re-deploying 8,600 Marines now stationed in Okinawa and relocating most  of the Marine capabilities, including helicopter and air transport units  in Futenma, to Guam.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Conundrum<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>How should we interpret this situation: Futenma&#8217;s relocation to  Henoko so urgently demanded by the U.S. government, on the one hand, and  the U.S. military&#8217;s Guam military development plan in which most of  Futenma&#8217;s operations are to be moved to Guam, on the other? What is the  current obfuscation all about?<\/p>\n<p>One answer may be that the U.S. government is manipulating the  situation in order to retain every right to a permanent military  presence in Japan. This suggests that U.S. policymakers mistrust Japan  and the Japanese people despite repeated statements that Japan is the  U.S.&#8217;s most important ally. In other words, their &#8220;deterrence&#8221; is not  only directed against North Korea, China or Russia, but also against  Japan.<\/p>\n<p>When the Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in  1991, many expected a substantial reduction of the U.S. footprint on  Okinawa. The drawdown of U.S. troops in Europe augured well for Okinawa,  or so it seemed to me. Then came the 1995 Nye Report and the new US  policy based upon it, shattering Okinawan hopes and expectations. On the  pretext that the U.S. military presence was a driving force for keeping  peace and prosperity in this allegedly volatile region, it announced  that the U.S. would continue to maintain bases and troops in East Asia  at approximately the same level as before.<\/p>\n<p>William Cohen, Secretary of Defense under the Clinton administration,  thwarted our hopes around 2000, when the two Koreas seemed to be  reducing tensions on the peninsula and even, perhaps inching to  reunification, by saying that there would be no U.S. military withdrawal  from Okinawa even if peace was established in a unified Korean  Peninsula.<\/p>\n<p>That the U.S. intends to perpetuate its military presence in Japan is  evident from its insistence that not only Futenma&#8217;s operations be  transferred to a new high tech base at Henoko, but also that other  facilities such as Naha military port, whose return was promised years  before Futenma, must be relocated within Okinawa. The 2006 Road Map  betrays Washington&#8217;s real intention by accidentally stating, &#8220;A  bilateral framework to conduct a study on a <em>permanent<\/em> field-carrier landing practice facility will be established, with the  goal of selecting a <em>permanent<\/em> site by July 2009 or the earliest  possible date thereafter.&#8221; (Italics mine)<\/p>\n<p>The Defense Ministry&#8217;s bureaucrats and their close associates at the  Ministry-affiliated National Institute for Defense seem well aware of  Washington\u2019s designs, for their East Asia Strategic Review 2010 is  written on this unspoken premise.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Concluding Remarks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As suggested above, the Futenma relocation issue is grounded on  political rather than military foundations, and the party most  responsible for this confusion is the U.S. government, not the Hatoyama  government, despite the latter\u2019s ham-fisted handling of the matter. U.S.  Marine Corps Air Station Futenma should be closed down and the land  returned to its legitimate owners unconditionally and without delay in  accordance with the overwhelming wish of the Okinawan people. The U.S.  has no inherent right to demand a quid pro quo in exchange for its  return. Military training can be conducted on the vastness of U.S. soil  with impunity and to their satisfaction.<\/p>\n<p><em>Yoshio Shimoji, born in Miyako Island, Okinawa, M.S. (Georgetown  University), taught English and English linguistics at the University of  the Ryukyus from April 1966 until his retirement in March 2003. This is  a revised and expanded version of an article posted at the <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/peacephilosophy.blogspot.com\/\"><em>website<\/em><\/a><em> of  Peace Philosophy Centre.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Recommended citation: Yoshio Shimoji, &#8220;The Futenma Base and the  U.S.-Japan Controversy: an Okinawan perspective,&#8221; The Asia-Pacific  Journal, 18-5-10, May 3, 2010.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Articles on related themes:<\/p>\n<p>Gavan McCormack, <a href=\"http:\/\/japanfocus.org\/-Gavan-McCormack\/3317\">The Travails of a  Client State: An Okinawan Angle on the 50th Anniversary of the US-Japan  Security Treaty<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Kikuno Yumiko and Norimatsu Satoko, <a href=\"http:\/\/japanfocus.org\/-Kikuno-Yumiko\/3306\">Henoko, Okinawa: Inside  the Sit-In<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Urashiima Etsuko and Gavan McCormack, <a href=\"http:\/\/japanfocus.org\/-Gavan-McCormack\/3291\">Electing a Town Mayor  in Okinawa: Report from the Nago Trenches<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Iha Yoichi, <a href=\"http:\/\/japanfocus.org\/-Iha-Yoichi\/3287\">Why  Build a New Base on Okinawa When the Marines are Relocating to Guam?:  Okinawa Mayor Challenges Japan and the US<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Iha Yoichi.  Ginowan City Mayor Iha Yoichi&#8217;s letter to U.S. President George W. Bush  dated October 15, 2003 (Japanese and English).\u00a0 Posted at Ginowan City  home page. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Tanaka Sakai, <a href=\"http:\/\/japanfocus.org\/-Tanaka-Sakai\/3274\">Japanese  Bureaucrats Hide Decision to Move All US Marines out of Okinawa to Guam<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Gavan McCormack, <a href=\"http:\/\/japanfocus.org\/-Gavan-McCormack\/3250\">The Battle of Okinawa  2009: Obama vs Hatoyama<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hayashi Kiminori, <a href=\"http:\/\/japanfocus.org\/-Hayashi-Kiminori\/3185\">Oshima Ken\u2019ichi and  Yokemoto Masafumi, Overcoming American Military Base Pollution in Asia:  Japan, Okinawa, Philippines<\/a><\/p>\n<p>See also: the <a href=\"http:\/\/peacephilosophy.blogspot.com\/\">Peace  Philosophy Center<\/a>, particularly the two articles posted on March 16,  2010 entry on <a href=\"http:\/\/peacephilosophy.blogspot.com\/2010\/03\/no-longer-relocation-idea-of-massive.html\">recent  plans<\/a> for a new offshore base and <a href=\"http:\/\/peacephilosophy.blogspot.com\/2010\/03\/airbases-military-port-and-casino.html\">plans  for a naval base and casino<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] Land seizure was not limited to central Okinawa; in fact, it was  almost universal throughout the island at the time. If that was the  first wave of land seizure, the second one started in the early 50&#8217;s,  hard hitting Iejima, where 35.3 percent of the island&#8217;s land area is  still military, the Isahama district of Ginowan and the Gushi district  of Oroku (later incorporated with Naha City). Land expropriation was  brutally undertaken, as Ota (1995) writes: &#8220;In some cases during the  1950&#8217;s, bayonets and bulldozers were used to expropriate Okinawans&#8217; land  and uproot owners from their homes.&#8221; It was indeed a flagrant violation  of the Hague Convention (Article 46), which clearly states: &#8220;Family  honour and rights, the lives of persons, and private property, as well  as religious convictions and practice, must be respected. Private  property cannot be confiscated.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>[2]\u3000<em>The Ryukyu Shimpo<\/em>, June 4, 2000 (morning edition): pages  1 and 7. Also, <em>The Okinawa Times<\/em>, June 3, 2001 (morning  edition): pages 1, 3 and 21.<\/p>\n<p>[3]\u3000<em>The Ryukyu Shimpo<\/em> (ibid.): page 7.<\/p>\n<p>[4] See the U.S. Defense Department&#8217;s <em>2004 Statistical Compendium  on Allied Contributions to the Common Defense<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>[5] Japanese Ministry of Defense web site.<\/p>\n<p>[6] <em>The Japan Times<\/em>: April 27, 2010.<\/p>\n<p>[7] Ginowan City Home Page.<\/p>\n<p>[8]\u3000Yoshida. 2010.<\/p>\n<p><strong>References<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ginowan City. 2010. &#8220;Possibility of Futenma&#8217;s Relocation to Guam,&#8221;  Mayor&#8217;s explanatory document prepared for the Meeting on Okinawa&#8217;s  Military Base Problems held December 12, 2009. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.city.ginowan.okinawa.jp\/Internet\">Home page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. 2006. &#8220;United States-Japan  Roadmap for Realignment<\/p>\n<p>Implementation&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>McCormack, Gavan. 2007. <em>Client State: Japan in American Embrace<\/em> (Japanese translation). Gaifusha: Tokyo.<\/p>\n<p>Ota, Masahide. 1995. <em>Essays on Okinawan Problems<\/em> (English).  Yui Publishing Company: Okinawa.<\/p>\n<p>____________. 2004. <em>Discrimination against Okinawa and the  Pacific Constitution<\/em> (Japanese). BOC Publishing Company: Tokyo.<\/p>\n<p>The National Institute for Defense. 2010. &#8220;East Asia Strategic Review  2010&#8221; (Japanese).<\/p>\n<p>Rafferty, Kevin. 2010. &#8220;Hatoyama&#8217;s fate tied to Futenma&#8221; in the April  27, 2010 <em>Japan Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Okinawa Times<\/em>, June 3, 2001 (morning edition)<\/p>\n<p><em>The Ryukyu Shimpo<\/em>, June 4, 2000 (morning edition)<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Department of Defense. 2004. &#8220;2004 Statistical Compendium on  Allied Contributions to the Common Defense&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Yoshida, Kensei. 2007. <em>Okinawa: The Military Colony<\/em> (Japanese). Kobunken: Tokyo.<\/p>\n<p>____________. 2010. <em>Okinawa-Based Marines will Go to Guam<\/em> (Japanese). Kobunken: Tokyo.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>http:\/\/www.japanfocus.org\/-Yoshio-SHIMOJI\/3354 The Futenma Base and the U.S.-Japan Controversy: an Okinawan perspective Yoshio SHIMOJI Introduction This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the conclusion of the revised Japan-U.S. Mutual Security Treaty (Ampo). The original treaty was signed on September 8, 1951, the same day the San Francisco Peace Treaty was signed. One of its provisions stipulated &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/?p=7118\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Futenma Base and the U.S.-Japan Controversy: an Okinawan perspective&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[2409],"class_list":["post-7118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pacific","tag-movements-resistance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7118"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7118"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7120,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7118\/revisions\/7120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dmzhawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}