U.S. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton's visit to Japan

Military Bases: From Okinawa to Guam

Almost 50 years ago, United States and Japan signed a security alliance which, among other things, allowed the former to have military bases in Japanese territory. These bases are located mainly in the islands of Okinawa, a southern Japanese prefecture. For along time now, Okinawans have requested the United States to return the land back to them. Upon her visit to Japan, Secretary Clinton announced the signature of the Guam International Agreement which will move 8,000 troops out of Okinawa


By ANDRES MACIAS
from Tokyo, JAPAN


The people from Okinawa were very eager to listen once again what Secretary Clinton had already stated in her speech on February 13 to the Asia Society in New York, prior to her visit to Japan. She remarked that during her visit, issues concerning the security alliance between the two countries were going to be addressed, including the transfer of military troops to Guam. The news was very welcomed, but local people were still a little bit skeptical. They are not completely sure that their continuous protests and critics towards the military presence of United States in Okinawa will finally show some tangible results, since some previous agreements have not been executed as promised.

Background of Okinawa

The prefecture of Okinawa consists of a group of islands in the south of Japan. Until 1879 it was known as the independent Kingdom of Ryukyu Islands. It had very strong political and economic ties with China. But when the Meiji era started, this kingdom became one more prefecture of the new Japanese Government, representing not even 1 per cent of the whole country's territory.

During the World War II, Okinawa turned out to be a very strategic territory for both Japan and the United States. US troops arrived first to this island in order to fight directly with the Japanese army and get control of an extremely tactical spot. On the other hand, the Japanese defended Okinawan territory with everything they had. They thought that containing US military in the southern prefecture would avoid, or at least delay, the arrival of the enemy to Japanese mainland. US troops outnumbered the Japanese ones. The War of Okinawa, as it was named afterwards, represented a clear victory to the United States. From this newly conquered land, the United States launched the nuclear bombs that ended the World War II.

United States had control over all the Japanese territory from the end of World War II until the year 1952. From that year on and after the signature of the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951, Japan recovered control of its previous territory except for Okinawa, which would continue to be under US administration for almost 20 years more.

During this period, United States concentrated in Okinawa almost two thirds of its total military presence in Japan.

US - Japan security relationship and its harms

After the World War II, United States and Japan built a close security related bond supported on various agreements and consensus such as the Status of Forces Agreement, the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, and the inclusion of Article 9 into the Japanese constitution. In this way, Japan became dependant of US military force to defend the nation from external threats and therefore it was necessary for US troops to remain in Japanese territory.

Nevertheless, as time went on, Okinawans started to get tired of the presence of foreign military in their own territory; in a territory which, they argue, belongs only to them and therefore it should be them who ought to be exploiting the occupied land. This feeling of rejection became stronger as locals began to accuse US military troops of committing crimes inside Japanese territory. The situation became critical after United States' personnel were accused of raping a Japanese school girl in 1995. Such an action gave origin to a report from the Special Action Committee on Okinawa SACO in 1996, which stated that the United States would gradually return back to Japan the land where their military compounds were settled. Such a committee was represented by delegates of both governments.

After the final report from SACO, Okinawans expected that the extreme noise caused by the constant flights of US military aircrafts would stop and that no more accidents - such as the one in 2004, where a helicopter from the Futenma Air Station crashed the entrance of the Okinawa International University while doing some training exercise - would ever happen again. But things didn't go as smooth as they would have liked. The land where there Futenma Air Station is located was supposed to be returned between five to seven years after SACO report in 1996, but it is still in the same place. In addition, complaints from local people continue increasing year after year.

As a solution to the problems caused by the Futenma Air Station, the United States and Japanese government agreed to build a new base in the waters near the shore of Henoko, another city in the prefecture of Okinawa. This initiative has been rejected emphatically by the local residents. Supported by environmentalists, a pacific protest camp was established more than 1,770 days ago. A tent was raised in the beach just in front of the place where the base is supposed to be built.

Nevertheless, this conflictive situation could have a near closure after the recent visit of Secretary Hillary Clinton to Japan. Some weeks ago in front of the Asia Society in New York and once again in her official remarks with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, Secretary Clinton addressed the issue of repositioning US military troops away from Okinawa. It was agreed that Okinawans should stop carrying the negative impacts of the military presence in the islands. Reaffirming the important security relationship between both countries and the agreement through which the defense of Japan from foreign attacks is a task that should be fulfilled United States, both countries committed to sign the Guam International Agreement, accepting to gradually relocate US military servicemen from Okinawa to Guam. If such an agreement is implemented adequately, the burdens carried by the southern Japanese prefecture will have an end and the US military presence in the Pacific might be strengthen.


(Published: 10.03.2009.)