(THEMIS: February 2015 – pp. 12-13)

 Security legislation and Henoko relocation will be the two critical issues for the Abe administration from now on. However, the East Asian Community Institute (EACI) headed by former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama may complicate the Henoko relocation issue.

 The EACI counts among its directors anti-U.S. pundits Okinawa University Professor Osamu Ogata and Ukeru Magosaki, former head of the Intelligence and Analysis Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It also set up a Ryukyu Okinawa Center in 2014.

 The EACI organized a symposium on “how to convey Okinawa’s message to the U.S.” in January, where a U.S. think tank researcher, a leftist local lawmaker, and an Okinawa Times reporter expounded on their opposition to Henoko relocation.

 Defense Minister Gen Nakatani is reckoned to be the Abe administration’s key person in handling both the security legislation and Henoko relocation issues. (Summary)