Most papers continued to cover the repercussions caused by derogatory epithets hurled at Okinawa base opponents by riot policemen from Osaka, highlighting Osaka Governor Matsui’s comments apparently condoning the use of the offensive language and a “profound apology” offered to Governor Onaga by the chief of the Okinawa prefectural police, who promised that he will conduct a thorough review of….Read more

It was learned on Oct. 19 that Komeito’s working team on U.S. bases in Okinawa consisting of officials from the party’s headquarters and its Okinawa chapter is studying as an option the relocation of the Futenma Air Station not by building runways on reclaimed land in waters off Henoko, Nago City, but by the construction of helipads on land in….Read more

Documents reveal marines are amassing information on protesters and journalists   By Jon Mitchell Special to the Japan Times   Outside the jurisdiction of its bases on Okinawa, the United States Marine Corps is conducting extensive surveillance of Japanese residents, peace groups and the media — including me. The operations, revealed in documents obtained under the U.S. Freedom of Information….Read more

Most papers reported that two riot policemen dispatched from Osaka hurled abusive epithets at base opponents in Okinawa. They called activists protesting against the helipad construction at the Northern Training Area (NTA) on Tuesday: “Idiots. Dojin,” (a derogatory term meaning “native”) and “Shinajin,” (a derogatory reference to Chinese). According to Asahi, several hundred riot policemen from Osaka, Tokyo, and four….Read more

Okinawa Times gave top coverage to the finding that Governor Onaga is seriously looking into the possibility of using his administrative authority with the goal of thwarting base construction off Camp Schwab by not renewing an existing permit to destroy rock reefs, not allowing the central government to transplant coral reefs, and refusing to approve changes to the original construction design. The prefectural government….Read more

Following are the main points of a conversation by retired GSDF Lt. Gen. Noboru Yamaguchi, former head of the GSDF Research and Development Command; retired MSDF Vice Admiral Yoji Koda, former commander-in-chief of the Self-Defense Fleet; and retired ASDF Lt. Gen. Toshimichi Nagaiwa, former commander of the Air Support Command.   Nagaiwa: China toughened its stance drastically after the “nine-dash line,” which….Read more

  Yomiuri wrote that it has obtained the Defense Ministry’s draft plan for the reversion of part of the Northern Training Area (NTA). Under the plan, the vacated land will be handed over to local landowners 12 to 18 months after it is returned to Japan and cleared of unexploded shells and contaminants. Japan’s return of land to its owners….Read more

On Oct. 17, the Okinawa Prefectural Police Headquarters arrested Hiroji Yamashiro (64), chairman of the Okinawa Peace Campaign Center, for allegedly cutting barbed wire (property damage) installed near the helipad relocation construction site at the U.S. military’s Northern Training Area (NTA; located in the villages of Higashi and Kunigami in Okinawa Prefecture). The group has organized protests against the construction. The police arrested….Read more