AJW by Asahi Shimbun : 23 February 2016
One of the manifesto of former prime minister, Hatoyama (from the Democratic Party, the current opposition party) was to relocate Futenma US military base outside of Okinawa. As posted earlier, the bureaucrat from Ministry of Foreign Affair disturbed him by telling US not to compromise on this negotiation. Another disturbance by the bureaucrat was as below:
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Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama likely scuttled his plan in 2010 to relocate functions of a contentious U.S. base in Okinawa to Kagoshima Prefecture, based on a classified government document citing U.S. military regulations forbidding such a move. The internal Japanese government document, obtained recently by The Asahi Shimbun, cites a U.S. military “standard” that stipulates a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter unit should not be based more than 65 nautical miles, or 120 kilometers, from its training grounds.
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But U.S. Forces Japan denies the existence of such an operational standard, raising the possibility that the document was compiled only to pressure Hatoyama to scrap his plan to move functions of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Tokunoshima island. “I remember being briefed by the Foreign Ministry and other government officials (on the U.S. operational regulations),” Hatoyama told The Asahi Shimbun. “I was told that it was impossible to relocate the units to outside a radius of 65 nautical miles from their training grounds, and it was the biggest factor behind my decision to give up the Tokunoshima relocation plan."
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The document, dated April 19, 2010, is titled “Explanations from the U.S. side on the Futenma relocation issue." It is stamped “highly classified.”
It says that the “standard governing the acceptable distance between bases of rotorcraft units and practice grounds where the units conduct regular exercises is clearly stipulated in the U.S. military’s operational manuals.”At the time, Hatoyama, of the Democratic Party of Japan-led government, was considering Tokunoshima island as the site to relocate functions of Futenma, based in the densely populated city of Ginowan on Okinawa's main island.
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Tokunoshima island in southern Kagoshima Prefecture, however, is located about 104 nautical miles, or 192 km, from the northern and central areas of Okinawa’s main island where the U.S. Marine helicopter units conduct regular drills. Tokunoshima residents held mass demonstrations opposing Futenma's move to their island. Scrapping the Tokunoshima plan backed Hatoyama into a political corner, as he had promised to move the Futenma air station outside Okinawa Prefecture. He eventually was forced to accept the agreement reached in 2006 between Japan and the United States to relocate Futenma to the Henoko district in Nago, also in the prefecture.
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The ensuing furor contributed to Hatoyama stepping down as prime minister in June 2010. In response to inquiries from The Asahi Shimbun, U.S. Forces Japan said in a written response earlier this month that the Marines have no official standard or regulation that mandates the bases and training grounds of its helicopter units to be located within 65 nautical miles. The Foreign Ministry has said that it cannot confirm the existence of such a document.
,
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201602230041
One of the manifesto of former prime minister, Hatoyama (from the Democratic Party, the current opposition party) was to relocate Futenma US military base outside of Okinawa. As posted earlier, the bureaucrat from Ministry of Foreign Affair disturbed him by telling US not to compromise on this negotiation. Another disturbance by the bureaucrat was as below:
.............
Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama likely scuttled his plan in 2010 to relocate functions of a contentious U.S. base in Okinawa to Kagoshima Prefecture, based on a classified government document citing U.S. military regulations forbidding such a move. The internal Japanese government document, obtained recently by The Asahi Shimbun, cites a U.S. military “standard” that stipulates a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter unit should not be based more than 65 nautical miles, or 120 kilometers, from its training grounds.
.
But U.S. Forces Japan denies the existence of such an operational standard, raising the possibility that the document was compiled only to pressure Hatoyama to scrap his plan to move functions of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Tokunoshima island. “I remember being briefed by the Foreign Ministry and other government officials (on the U.S. operational regulations),” Hatoyama told The Asahi Shimbun. “I was told that it was impossible to relocate the units to outside a radius of 65 nautical miles from their training grounds, and it was the biggest factor behind my decision to give up the Tokunoshima relocation plan."
.
The document, dated April 19, 2010, is titled “Explanations from the U.S. side on the Futenma relocation issue." It is stamped “highly classified.”
It says that the “standard governing the acceptable distance between bases of rotorcraft units and practice grounds where the units conduct regular exercises is clearly stipulated in the U.S. military’s operational manuals.”At the time, Hatoyama, of the Democratic Party of Japan-led government, was considering Tokunoshima island as the site to relocate functions of Futenma, based in the densely populated city of Ginowan on Okinawa's main island.
.
Tokunoshima island in southern Kagoshima Prefecture, however, is located about 104 nautical miles, or 192 km, from the northern and central areas of Okinawa’s main island where the U.S. Marine helicopter units conduct regular drills. Tokunoshima residents held mass demonstrations opposing Futenma's move to their island. Scrapping the Tokunoshima plan backed Hatoyama into a political corner, as he had promised to move the Futenma air station outside Okinawa Prefecture. He eventually was forced to accept the agreement reached in 2006 between Japan and the United States to relocate Futenma to the Henoko district in Nago, also in the prefecture.
.
The ensuing furor contributed to Hatoyama stepping down as prime minister in June 2010. In response to inquiries from The Asahi Shimbun, U.S. Forces Japan said in a written response earlier this month that the Marines have no official standard or regulation that mandates the bases and training grounds of its helicopter units to be located within 65 nautical miles. The Foreign Ministry has said that it cannot confirm the existence of such a document.
,
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201602230041
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