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Shinzo Abe and Okinawa’s Governor to Resume Talks on U.S. Base Shinzo Abe and Okinawa’s Governor to Resume Talks on U.S. Base
(about 13 hours later)
TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and the leader of the southern island Okinawa agreed on Friday to take a dispute over the future of a United States military base out of the courts and back to the negotiating table. TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and the leader of the southern island Okinawa agreed on Friday to take a dispute over the future of a United States military base out of the courts and back to the negotiating table.
Mr. Abe accepted a freeze on construction work at a contentious new location planned for the base, Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, as part of the agreement with Okinawa’s governor, Takeshi Onaga. Work had already been disrupted while the authorities in Tokyo and Okinawa fought a legal battle over the site.Mr. Abe accepted a freeze on construction work at a contentious new location planned for the base, Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, as part of the agreement with Okinawa’s governor, Takeshi Onaga. Work had already been disrupted while the authorities in Tokyo and Okinawa fought a legal battle over the site.
The deal is the latest twist in a 20-year effort by Japanese and American officials to move the base, which is in the middle of a crowded Okinawan city. National officials want to move the base to a less crowded part of the island, but Mr. Onaga and a majority of Okinawans oppose the plan because they want the Marines moved off Okinawa altogether.The deal is the latest twist in a 20-year effort by Japanese and American officials to move the base, which is in the middle of a crowded Okinawan city. National officials want to move the base to a less crowded part of the island, but Mr. Onaga and a majority of Okinawans oppose the plan because they want the Marines moved off Okinawa altogether.
“If the present situation continues, and we keep up an endless battle in the courts, things will simply become deadlocked,” Mr. Abe said. Television footage showed Mr. Abe and Mr. Onaga shaking hands over the deal at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo.“If the present situation continues, and we keep up an endless battle in the courts, things will simply become deadlocked,” Mr. Abe said. Television footage showed Mr. Abe and Mr. Onaga shaking hands over the deal at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo.
Tokyo and Washington decided on the relocation in the 1990s, but opposition in Okinawa has stopped the plan from being carried out. The small island hosts about half of the roughly 50,000 American military personnel stationed in Japan, and many residents want the number reduced, not simply redistributed. Environmentalists have also criticized the relocation plan, which calls for a pair of runways to be built in what is now a coral-filled bay.Tokyo and Washington decided on the relocation in the 1990s, but opposition in Okinawa has stopped the plan from being carried out. The small island hosts about half of the roughly 50,000 American military personnel stationed in Japan, and many residents want the number reduced, not simply redistributed. Environmentalists have also criticized the relocation plan, which calls for a pair of runways to be built in what is now a coral-filled bay.
Mr. Abe pushed harder than his predecessors to move the project forward.Mr. Abe pushed harder than his predecessors to move the project forward.
Driven by concerns over the growing military power of China, Mr. Abe has sought to deepen military ties with the United States — already a close ally and protector — and to bolster Japan’s defense in other ways. He has lifted restrictions on arms exports and reinterpreted the pacifist Constitution to allow Japanese forces to undertake combat missions overseas. The latter move has been especially controversial in a country that has not sent soldiers into battle since World War II, and where antiwar sentiment remains strong.Driven by concerns over the growing military power of China, Mr. Abe has sought to deepen military ties with the United States — already a close ally and protector — and to bolster Japan’s defense in other ways. He has lifted restrictions on arms exports and reinterpreted the pacifist Constitution to allow Japanese forces to undertake combat missions overseas. The latter move has been especially controversial in a country that has not sent soldiers into battle since World War II, and where antiwar sentiment remains strong.
The deal agreed to on Friday obliges Tokyo and Okinawa to drop overlapping lawsuits over the base and return to negotiations, but it sets no timetable. Japanese and American officials had hoped to move Futenma to its new location on Henoko Bay by 2023, but legal and political wrangling in Japan had already made that deadline untenable.The deal agreed to on Friday obliges Tokyo and Okinawa to drop overlapping lawsuits over the base and return to negotiations, but it sets no timetable. Japanese and American officials had hoped to move Futenma to its new location on Henoko Bay by 2023, but legal and political wrangling in Japan had already made that deadline untenable.
Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., the head of the United States Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month that the move would be delayed by at least two years, to 2025 or later.Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., the head of the United States Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month that the move would be delayed by at least two years, to 2025 or later.
Mr. Abe and Mr. Onaga said they had not moved from their fundamental positions on Futenma. “Relocating to Henoko is still the only option,” Mr. Abe said. Mr. Onaga said he retained a “conviction not to allow a new base to be built at Henoko.”Mr. Abe and Mr. Onaga said they had not moved from their fundamental positions on Futenma. “Relocating to Henoko is still the only option,” Mr. Abe said. Mr. Onaga said he retained a “conviction not to allow a new base to be built at Henoko.”
Mr. Abe and Mr. Onaga came to terms in response to a recommendation by a Japanese court. Last year, Mr. Onaga revoked a permit for survey and construction work on the new location, but the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism overruled his decision. Both sides sued over jurisdiction, and some legal experts thought the case would end up before the Supreme Court. But in January, in a decision in which the details were sealed until Friday, a lower court in Fukuoka proposed renewed negotiations instead.Mr. Abe and Mr. Onaga came to terms in response to a recommendation by a Japanese court. Last year, Mr. Onaga revoked a permit for survey and construction work on the new location, but the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism overruled his decision. Both sides sued over jurisdiction, and some legal experts thought the case would end up before the Supreme Court. But in January, in a decision in which the details were sealed until Friday, a lower court in Fukuoka proposed renewed negotiations instead.
As part of the agreement on Friday, Mr. Abe and Mr. Onaga said that if new talks failed and the matter ultimately ended up in court again, they would accept whatever ruling a judge handed down.As part of the agreement on Friday, Mr. Abe and Mr. Onaga said that if new talks failed and the matter ultimately ended up in court again, they would accept whatever ruling a judge handed down.
Hiroshi Ashitomi, a leader of a protest group in the city of Nago, where Henoko is, said he was cautiously optimistic about the result.Hiroshi Ashitomi, a leader of a protest group in the city of Nago, where Henoko is, said he was cautiously optimistic about the result.
“I welcome the decision to suspend construction, but we don’t know what the result of the negotiations will be,” he said in a telephone interview. “We believe in the governor.”“I welcome the decision to suspend construction, but we don’t know what the result of the negotiations will be,” he said in a telephone interview. “We believe in the governor.”
Opponents of the relocation have been let down before. Mr. Onaga’s predecessor, Hirokazu Nakaima, was elected on a promise to stop the project but ended up switching sides and issuing the permit needed for it to move ahead. Mr. Ashitomi said his group would continue sit-in protests in front of the Henoko site.Opponents of the relocation have been let down before. Mr. Onaga’s predecessor, Hirokazu Nakaima, was elected on a promise to stop the project but ended up switching sides and issuing the permit needed for it to move ahead. Mr. Ashitomi said his group would continue sit-in protests in front of the Henoko site.
Masaaki Gabe, a law professor at University of the Ryukyus, said Okinawa’s position in the lawsuits had looked marginally stronger than the government’s. But by agreeing to go back to the negotiating table in return for the construction freeze, he said, Mr. Onaga would be able to stop on-the-ground work that might have made the relocation project irreversible in practice.Masaaki Gabe, a law professor at University of the Ryukyus, said Okinawa’s position in the lawsuits had looked marginally stronger than the government’s. But by agreeing to go back to the negotiating table in return for the construction freeze, he said, Mr. Onaga would be able to stop on-the-ground work that might have made the relocation project irreversible in practice.
“It’s basically a tie,” he said. “It sets things back to where they were before the dispute over the permit.”“It’s basically a tie,” he said. “It sets things back to where they were before the dispute over the permit.”
Hiroshi Meguro, a research fellow at the Institute of Okinawan Studies at Hosei University in Tokyo, said Mr. Onaga may have been worried that the broad anti-base coalition he leads, which includes disgruntled members of Mr. Abe’s conservative governing party as well as communists and socialists, would crack before a final court decision was reached.Hiroshi Meguro, a research fellow at the Institute of Okinawan Studies at Hosei University in Tokyo, said Mr. Onaga may have been worried that the broad anti-base coalition he leads, which includes disgruntled members of Mr. Abe’s conservative governing party as well as communists and socialists, would crack before a final court decision was reached.
And Mr. Abe, for his part, may have been concerned about the effect of the court battle on elections for the upper house of Parliament due this summer, Mr. Meguro said.And Mr. Abe, for his part, may have been concerned about the effect of the court battle on elections for the upper house of Parliament due this summer, Mr. Meguro said.
“The court basically told them, go back and talk more,” he said. “Both sides had reason to follow its advice.”“The court basically told them, go back and talk more,” he said. “Both sides had reason to follow its advice.”