1951 six years after the American rule of Japan An international peace conference will be held in San Francisco.
So, San Francisco Peace Treaty Was signed, and at the same time, the Japan-US Security Treaty was signed.
Japan-US Security Treaty Article 6 In " For the security of Japan, international peace and security in the Far East, the US military is allowed to use facilities and areas in Japan . We have decided to allow the US military to be stationed and use military facilities and bases in Japan.
The aim of the United States is 1948 Democratic People's Republic of Korea Founded in 1949 People's Republic of China It is said that he wanted Japan to become a wall against communism as a check on the same communist nation as the Soviet Union.
US military base in Japan
US military base in Japan- Kadena Air Base (Okinawa Kadena)
- Yokota Air Base (Tokyo)
- Atsugi (Kanagawa)
- Yokosuka Base (Kanagawa)
- Iruma (Saitama)
- Misawa (Aomori)
- Iwakuni (Yamaguchi)
- Sasebo (Nagasaki)
However, about 75% of the total area of Japanese US military bases is Okinawa . I am concentrating on.
The soldiers at the U.S. military bases in Honshu are elite, but the U.S. forces in Okinawa are mainly Marines . So, it seems that it is a unit that can rush to the battlefield if a sortie order is issued even tonight. The U.S. Army is Army / Navy / Air Force / Marine Corps The Marine Corps is a unit that gets on a Navy ship and rushes to the front line first.
As of 2009, there are 36000 troops. It is said that 60% of them are in Okinawa.
Why are US military bases concentrated in Okinawa?
The reason begins with the defeat of Japan in World War II.
After the war in Okinawa, the U.S. forces that occupied Okinawa pushed the inhabitants into the camp crushed the villages and fields without the permission of the inhabitants and built a base . Did. After the war, Japan's territory was 1952 However, Okinawa Prefecture continued to be occupied by the United States.
The post-WWII world is capitalist America And Socialist Soviet Union In East Asia, the confrontation between the socialist nations of China and North Korea and the capitalist nations of the United States and Japan became stronger.
During the Cold War, Okinawa was considered an important military base for the US military.
Not many because we concentrated the bases in Okinawa, 1972 I think it is more natural to think that Okinawa was free to build a base on its own land in the territory of the United States until it was officially returned.
The United States has 35 US military bases outside of its own country.
Cold War era In addition, to give a glimpse of the communism of the Soviet Union and China, Okinawa was an important base among them. The base in Okinawa is a place where you can look from the Pacific Ocean to the Middle East / Eastern Europe So, in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, the US military base in Okinawa played an important role.
During the Gulf War, many fighters from Okinawa were active.
In this way, Okinawa is a place where it is easy to sortie from many directions, and it becomes an important base on the Pacific Ocean for the United States. I don't want to.
Even now, China's expansion into the ocean is becoming more active, and Russia is showing disturbing movements, so we do not know what will happen in the Asian region in the future. Therefore, it seems that the United States still thinks that the US military base in Okinawa is still an important base.
Even in the Middle East, there are nations trying to support Islamic radical organizations, and caution from the Middle East to Asia is also needed. It is a well-known fact that it is more efficient to sortie from Kadena Air Base than to sortie from the continental United States when something happens.
USFJ stationing expenses (compassionate budget)
The cost of stationing US forces in Japan is currently 1974 billion yen in FY2019 in Japan.
Under the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement, as a general rule, expenses are borne by the United States, but Japan's economic power has increased due to the increase in the US trade deficit, and 1978 " Compassionate Budget As a result, Japan will bear a little burden.
Items to be borne are facility construction costs, utility costs, communication costs, salaries of Japanese workers working at the base It will be devoted to such things.
U.S. Forces Japan Privilege [US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement]
Inside the base is [ Japan, not Japan ], And the wall of the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement stands up. It defines the privileges of the U.S. Forces in Japan and describes the following U.S. Forces privileges.
- Unless Japanese police arrest the suspect off-base, the US will detain him during the investigation until he is prosecuted.
- Tax exemption (The daily necessities sold at the shop on the base are "materials procured by the military", including cigarettes and beer, so there is no customs duty or consumption tax)
- Exclusion from application of aviation law (=low-altitude flight / night flight is permitted)
- Exemption from road usage fee and NHK reception fee
- I don't need a passport
As is often seen in Okinawa Prefecture, when military personnel, base employees, and their families buy a car in Japan, the alphabet that starts with [Y] is written on the license plate, and it is subject to crackdown on speed violations and parking violations. It seems that it will not be.
Also, in Okinawa prefecture, it is said that those cars should never cause an accident, and it is rumored that if an accident should occur, it will become an international problem.
Children of US soldiers attend schools on the base, and hospitals are also attached to the main bases.
The US military family housing at Yokota Air Base is a 3LDK type, and it seems that the general size is 135㎡ per household. In the case of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, it can be said that even the family housing of executives is more than double the size of 65 m2.
Okinawa base problem
What are some of the most frequently mentioned Okinawa base issues?
- Fear of a crash
- Noise and vibration damage
- Crime damage by US soldiers
- Stinks and environmental pollution
Regarding environmental pollution, the smell of military airplane tires rubbed on the runway mixes with engine oil, becomes a terrible stink with hot air and enters nearby houses, and environmental pollution caused by base construction etc. is also seen in various places. increase.
The theory of reviewing the US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement and the history of the Okinawa base problem
1972 Until Okinawa was returned to Japan, the land of Okinawan citizens was taken up one after another in order to be governed by the United States and to build a base.
When Okinawa was returned to Japan, it was a condition that the U.S. forces in Japan would be placed like the mainland, but when I opened the lid, the vast U.S. military base in Okinawa remained as it is, and it continues to the present day. / P>
Problems also arise between the USFJ and Okinawans.
1995 Girl assault by US soldiers in Okinawa However, the US military detained the prison in the base and refused to hand over due to the provisions of the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement. With this incident as a trigger, protest rallies were held here and there in Okinawa, and Japan-US Security and Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement review discussions Was excited.
Japan-US Special Action Committee (SACO) in November to respond to the wishes of the citizens of the prefecture to reorganize and reduce their bases. Has been created, and it has been decided to return 5,000 hectares, which is 21% of the U.S. military base in Okinawa, within the next 5 to 12 years, to construct an alternative heliport to accompany the return of Futenma base, and to review the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement. rice field.
After that, SACO was dissolved, and after that, Japan-US security high-level office-level discussions for realization. Will take over.
On the other hand, there is also the problem that the number of places where the citizens of the prefecture work will decrease if the base disappears from Okinawa, and those who have to rely on the income from the base are in favor of the base for living reasons. In the 1950s, Okinawa's dependence on the US military economy was 50%, but in 2015, when tourism income increased, it was sluggish at 5%.
Land problems at US military bases in Okinawa
One-fifth of the main island of Okinawa is a US military base, and state-owned land accounts for only one-third of the base area. Other lands, during the American rule, packed people into camps and turned private lands into bases one after another.
Also, 1950s There is also a place where U.S. soldiers suddenly came and destroyed houses and fields with heavy machinery and used them as bases . Is called. Futenma base is a base built by the US military by crushing houses and fields while the inhabitants who survived the Battle of Okinawa were put in the camp.
Currently, the land taken up is pre-built, and the Japanese government rents the land to the residents . , I'm taking the body that the government is offering to the United States. There are 33,000 such landowners in Okinawa Prefecture, and the rent is said to be 78.3 billion yen annually.
After returning to Okinawa, 3000 opponents of borrowing [ anti-war landowners ], But many people will be forced into contracts by that means of the country.
Flow until forced use of land
A contract request comes from the country to the landowner → If the landowner signs it, the contract will be concluded and used
↓
Landlord refuses to sign
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Signature on behalf of the mayor of the municipality → Trial by the Okinawa Prefectural Expropriation Committee → Use if permitted
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Signature on behalf of the prefectural governor → Trial by the Okinawa Prefectural Expropriation Committee → Use if permitted
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Signature on behalf of the Prime Minister → Trial by the Okinawa Prefectural Expropriation Committee → Use if permitted
Amendment of the Special Measures Law for Lands of the Stationed Army [Special Measures Law]
1995 Currently 113 anti-war landowners In response to this, the government Special Measures for Lands for Stationed Forces [Special Measures Law] And forced to provide land. However, it is a condition that complicated procedures such as going through the expropriation committee of Okinawa Prefecture are taken, and the period of compulsory use is limited, so 1997 The Law for Special Measures for Lands of the Stationed Army (Special Measures Law) will be amended.
Expropriation Committee regardless of the owner's will We have created a law that applies only to Okinawa Prefecture, which allows the land to be forcibly used as a US military reservation if it is under trial.
According to the amendment, if the expropriation committee rejects the national application, the national government can apply for examination to the Ministry of Construction as a complaint. The Ministry of Construction will approve the review, so no matter what the expropriation committee decides, it will be possible to continue using it. This amendment to the law has made the expropriation committee a mere ghost.
In the view of the Japanese government, [ Personal property is absolute when building a road, but property rights can be restricted, which is the same as that. ] It seems to be the idea. May 14, 1997 Isn't the land finally returned to Okinawans on the day when 12 US military facilities including Kadena Air Base expire? It seems that it was an amendment to the law just before I thought.
Futenma base relocation problem and Futenma return
Futenma Base is located in the middle of Ginowan City and has been appealing for return for many years.
The base occupies 25% of the area of Ginowan City, and there are concerns about noise problems and accidents. There are many schools and hospitals around the base, and it is an area where noise and pollution are actually severe.
April 1996 It is agreed to return Okinawa's Futenma base to Japan within 5 to 7 years, but as a condition of the return, create an alternative base in Okinawa prefecture and move helicopters and soldiers It was that.
Therefore, the candidate site for relocation was the Henoko district, where the US Marine Corps base Camp Schwab (Nago City) is located, and the problems surrounding the relocation of Futenma Air Station began here.
The Futenma base issue will be in another article.
Without a review of Japan-US security ...
People in Okinawa have faced the base as a problem closely related to postwar life.
However, all the complaints of the citizens of the prefecture have been rejected by the country and it is in a read-through state. Is it due to the fact that the country called Japan tends to pass through the appeals of the people?
Do good It's done with.
The good deeds of politicians are [ properly handle] It does not mean " consider positively [ may be put on hold ] I'm not saying I'll do it ... ", so don't be fooled.
As far as this Okinawa base problem is concerned, the difference between Okinawa and the mainland is that most of the U.S. military bases will disappear by the 1970s, while in Okinawa, the vast U.S. military bases have survived for a long time. There may be a recognition gap among Japanese people.
Since I live in a northern country far away from Okinawa, I was one of those who didn't really feel it. However, when I went on a trip to Okinawa, I was able to take the Okinawa base problem as a reality only after seeing the citizens of the prefecture demonstrating around Henoko.
Looking at the Okinawa base problem in this way, I think that the relationship between Japan and the United States, that is, the Japan-US security system itself, will not be solved unless a fundamental review is made. If we continue the relationship so far, I think that Futenma, which is the most dangerous base in Okinawa without reducing the burden on Okinawa, will just move to Nago City.