On June 27, the Naha District Court (presiding judge: Kato Takashi) sentenced a 32-year-old U.S. servicemember affiliated with Torri Station to eight months in prison for violating the Road Traffic Act but suspended the sentence for three years (the prosecution had demanded eight months’ imprisonment). The defendant was arrested in June last year for driving under the influence of alcohol….Read more

By Tsukazaki Shohei and Asato Shugo   On June 24, the Okinawa prefectural government responded that it would agree to a proposal that was presented by a tribunal of the Environmental Dispute Coordination Commission within the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications concerning the digging of soil at a mine located inside the Okinawa Senseki Quasi-National Park in commemoration of….Read more

On June 24, Major General Stephen Liszewski took office as new commanding general of Marine Corps Installations Pacific (MCIPAC), which oversees U.S. Marine bases located in Okinawa Prefecture. After attending a personnel change ceremony held at Camp Zukeran (Kita Nakagusuku Village), the new commanding general said in response to a question from Ryukyu Shimpo, “We will conduct training to ensure….Read more

Okinawa Times wrote that Governor Tamaki held brief talks with Prime Minister Kishida ahead of Thursday’s ceremony in Okinawa marking the end of the Battle of Okinawa. According to Tamaki, the premier did not make a clear response to the governor’s request to the central government to set up a venue for dialogue on Futenma relocation or obtain the U.S.….Read more

NHK’s Aomori station reported on Thursday that following the leakage of 760 liters of water from pipes at a hangar at Misawa AB in January, the GOJ and the governments of Aomori Prefecture and Misawa City conducted water quality surveys at ten locations near the base on June 17. The Misawa City Government announced on Thursday that chemical compounds 2.4….Read more

Asahi reported on Prime Minister Kishida’s remarks delivered during the ceremony yesterday in Okinawa commemorating the end of the Battle of Okinawa 77 years ago, pointing out that he did not mention the FRF construction plan off Camp Schwab. Instead, the premier primarily focused on the administration’s commitment to promoting economic development of the island prefecture. According to the daily,….Read more

The two major Okinawa papers highlighted yesterday’s Joint Committee meeting in Tokyo at which the two sides confirmed the start of several construction initiatives related to U.S. force realignment south of Kadena AB. Three 6-story barracks for single noncommissioned officers, a 4-story parking garage, and adjacent roads will be constructed on Camp Hansen while family housing complexes on Camp Foster….Read more

TOKYO — United States Forces Japan (USFJ) has concluded that its helicopters’ low-altitude flights over central Tokyo — flights so low that they are illegal for Japanese aircraft — violate no international or Japanese aviation laws, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned.   In its final investigation report submitted to the Japanese government, U.S. forces stated that it has not confirmed….Read more

Okinawa Times reported on a discussion held on Monday between Iha Yoichi and Koja Genta, who are expected to run in the July House of Councillors election from the Okinawa election district. Both candidates agreed on the need for reconstructing the local economy, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Incumbent Upper House lawmaker Iha, who is supported….Read more