Okinawa governor in D.C. to push for smaller U.S. military presence on island

Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki won a second four-year term in September after campaigning on a platform that called for a smaller U.S. military footprint on an island that is considered strategically important to government officials both in Tokyo and Washington. 

Still, Mr. Tamaki opposes shifting a U.S. Marine Corps base from an urban area of central Okinawa to a less populated site off the coast, and on Wednesday he told reporters he doesn’t necessarily advocate shuttering all the U.S. bases in Japan.

“I do understand the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance,” he said, speaking through a translator while addressing the Washington, D.C.-based Defense Writers Group.

Okinawa is located about 300 miles from mainland Japan and 440 miles from Taiwan. It’s a major part of the “first island chain” U.S. strategy to counter growing Chinese aggression in the region. The island hosts 31 bases that are used exclusively by U.S. military personnel and one that is a joint U.S.-Japan Self-Defense Forces facility.

Mr. Tamaki said he was in Washington to speak with U.S. officials about Okinawans’ concerns over the large military presence on the island.

Polls have shown that most people on Okinawa oppose moving Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to the coastal city of Henoko. But for decades, Okinawans have complained about noise pollution, water and land contamination, military aircraft accidents, and violent crime that have occurred as a result of the U.S. military bases on the island.

“I believe it is very important that the Japanese government and U.S. government implement the measures to reduce the burden on Okinawa in a visible manner,” Mr. Tamaki said.

He said he doesn’t believe China will invade Taiwan as long as the self-governing island doesn’t declare independence and the U.S. continues its support of the One China policy.

“But … there is a possibility China will exert military pressure (against Taiwan),” Mr. Tamaki said. “In order to maintain the economic balance, peacebuilding is the priority.”