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| U.S. Returns Some Okinawa Land to Japan, but Unease Endures | U.S. Returns Some Okinawa Land to Japan, but Unease Endures |
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| TOKYO — Amid rising tensions over the American military presence on Okinawa, the United States officially returned nearly 10,000 acres of land on the northern part of the island to Japan on Thursday. It was the largest transfer of land since the United States returned Okinawa to Japan in 1972, at the end of postwar occupation. | TOKYO — Amid rising tensions over the American military presence on Okinawa, the United States officially returned nearly 10,000 acres of land on the northern part of the island to Japan on Thursday. It was the largest transfer of land since the United States returned Okinawa to Japan in 1972, at the end of postwar occupation. |
| The United States ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, described the move as a step toward shrinking the American military presence on the main island of Okinawa. Nearly half of the roughly 50,000 American troops in Japan are stationed on the island, and the United States military controls about one-fifth of it. | The United States ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, described the move as a step toward shrinking the American military presence on the main island of Okinawa. Nearly half of the roughly 50,000 American troops in Japan are stationed on the island, and the United States military controls about one-fifth of it. |
| At a ceremony in the seaside resort town of Nago on Thursday, Ms. Kennedy described the handover as a “milestone,” adding that “it also demonstrates America’s continued determination to reduce the impact of our presence here in Okinawa while maintaining our security commitments to the entire nation of Japan.” | At a ceremony in the seaside resort town of Nago on Thursday, Ms. Kennedy described the handover as a “milestone,” adding that “it also demonstrates America’s continued determination to reduce the impact of our presence here in Okinawa while maintaining our security commitments to the entire nation of Japan.” |
| Like many encounters between the United States military and residents of Okinawa, however, the land handover has stirred controversy. In exchange for the return of about half the acres that the American military uses to train soldiers for jungle warfare, the Japanese government agreed to build six helicopter landing pads on the land that the United States will retain. A small but fierce group of residents has complained about increased noise from construction and expressed concern about possible accidents. | Like many encounters between the United States military and residents of Okinawa, however, the land handover has stirred controversy. In exchange for the return of about half the acres that the American military uses to train soldiers for jungle warfare, the Japanese government agreed to build six helicopter landing pads on the land that the United States will retain. A small but fierce group of residents has complained about increased noise from construction and expressed concern about possible accidents. |
| For years, Okinawans have complained about violence and noise associated with American bases in the island prefecture. Resentment toward the United States military presence has intensified in recent months, after the arrest in May of a former Marine for the murder of a 20-year-old Okinawan woman. | |
| In the north of the island, where the helipads are being built, the residents’ concerns were amplified this month after an American Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crash-landed near Nago. The United States military grounded its entire fleet of Ospreys for about a week, before announcing that it would resume flights, angering local residents and the governor of Okinawa, Takeshi Onaga, who boycotted Thursday’s handover ceremony. | In the north of the island, where the helipads are being built, the residents’ concerns were amplified this month after an American Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crash-landed near Nago. The United States military grounded its entire fleet of Ospreys for about a week, before announcing that it would resume flights, angering local residents and the governor of Okinawa, Takeshi Onaga, who boycotted Thursday’s handover ceremony. |
| “I greatly regret that the U.S. military doesn’t have any consideration for the people of Okinawa,” Mr. Onaga said in a statement. | “I greatly regret that the U.S. military doesn’t have any consideration for the people of Okinawa,” Mr. Onaga said in a statement. |
| Although she praised the land transfer as benefiting Okinawa over all, Japan’s defense minister, Tomomi Inada, described the recent Osprey crash as “regrettable” and urged the United States military “to take thorough preventive measures so that such an incident will never occur again.” | |
| Since the end of World War II, Japan has been an important outpost for the United States military, whose mission is not only to defend Japan but also to protect American interests in Asia. During the recent presidential campaign in the United States, the presence of American soldiers and bases in Japan was a campaign point for Donald J. Trump, who suggested that the United States was paying too much to defend Japan and might withdraw troops. | Since the end of World War II, Japan has been an important outpost for the United States military, whose mission is not only to defend Japan but also to protect American interests in Asia. During the recent presidential campaign in the United States, the presence of American soldiers and bases in Japan was a campaign point for Donald J. Trump, who suggested that the United States was paying too much to defend Japan and might withdraw troops. |
| For now, the Americans are committed to staying in Japan and on Okinawa, although Ms. Kennedy said at the ceremony on Thursday that the United States would strive to “reduce the impact of our presence.” | For now, the Americans are committed to staying in Japan and on Okinawa, although Ms. Kennedy said at the ceremony on Thursday that the United States would strive to “reduce the impact of our presence.” |
| Protesters rallied in Nago on Thursday to show their opposition to the helipads and the Osprey flights. Over the summer, protesters clashed with the police when they tried to block access roads to the sites where the helipads were being built. Separately, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly passed a resolution on Thursday calling for Osprey flights to be halted and demanding that the United States military withdraw them from the area altogether. | |
| Some residents of Higashi-son, one of the villages surrounded by the American helicopter landing pads that are also being used by the Osprey aircraft, said that the land transfer would do nothing to improve their lives. | Some residents of Higashi-son, one of the villages surrounded by the American helicopter landing pads that are also being used by the Osprey aircraft, said that the land transfer would do nothing to improve their lives. |
| “It increases our burden,” said Ikuko Isa, 56, a member of the Higashi-son Town Council. “It’s nothing but an intensifying of the bases.” | “It increases our burden,” said Ikuko Isa, 56, a member of the Higashi-son Town Council. “It’s nothing but an intensifying of the bases.” |
| Gentatsu Ashimine, 58, the owner of a cafe and inn in Higashi-son, said that in addition to having to cope with noise, people lived in fear of crashes in their village. “If more Ospreys are deployed,” he said, “we cannot live here anymore.” | Gentatsu Ashimine, 58, the owner of a cafe and inn in Higashi-son, said that in addition to having to cope with noise, people lived in fear of crashes in their village. “If more Ospreys are deployed,” he said, “we cannot live here anymore.” |
| But in an interview on Wednesday with NHK, the national public broadcaster, Seikyu Iju, the mayor of Higashi-son, welcomed the transfer of the land, which is largely covered by forest. | But in an interview on Wednesday with NHK, the national public broadcaster, Seikyu Iju, the mayor of Higashi-son, welcomed the transfer of the land, which is largely covered by forest. |
| “After the land is returned, I would like to use it as a tourism resource for all of Okinawa, by turning it into a national park,” Mr. Iju said. | “After the land is returned, I would like to use it as a tourism resource for all of Okinawa, by turning it into a national park,” Mr. Iju said. |
| The United States and Japan originally agreed two decades ago that the American military would return half of the northern training land — about one-fifth of the land administered by United States forces in Okinawa — as part of a broader plan adopted after three American soldiers gang-raped a 12-year-old Okinawan girl. | The United States and Japan originally agreed two decades ago that the American military would return half of the northern training land — about one-fifth of the land administered by United States forces in Okinawa — as part of a broader plan adopted after three American soldiers gang-raped a 12-year-old Okinawan girl. |
| As part of that plan, Tokyo and Washington also agreed to relocate a base in Futenma, a crowded city in the south of Okinawa Island. Nago, a much less populated area, was later selected. | As part of that plan, Tokyo and Washington also agreed to relocate a base in Futenma, a crowded city in the south of Okinawa Island. Nago, a much less populated area, was later selected. |
| Mr. Onaga, the Okinawa governor, has joined protesters who say that the base should be moved out of Okinawa Prefecture altogether. He also revoked his predecessor’s approval of landfill work needed to begin construction of two new runways in the Nago area. The Japanese government sued the Okinawa government, and this week the Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Onaga could not withhold approval for the construction work. | Mr. Onaga, the Okinawa governor, has joined protesters who say that the base should be moved out of Okinawa Prefecture altogether. He also revoked his predecessor’s approval of landfill work needed to begin construction of two new runways in the Nago area. The Japanese government sued the Okinawa government, and this week the Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Onaga could not withhold approval for the construction work. |