ニュース 2011/02/18 DPJ Consultative Council on Okinawa petitions Maehara, Hirota On February 18, members of the DPJ Consultative Council on Okinawa (provisional translation), headed by its Chair, Secretary General Katsuya Okada, handed over “A Proposal for Eliminating the Dangers of US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station and Reducing the Burden Shouldered by the People of Okinawa” (provisional translation) to Minister for Foreign Affairs Seiji Maehara. The proposal was drafted based on a visit to Okinawa in January, and suggestions made by the Mayor of Ginowan City Takeshi Asato at a meeting in the Diet building, and in particular to requests relating to the issue of aircraft noise and of eliminating the dangers posed by the base to local residents. The meeting was also attended by Secretary-General of the Consultative Council Yuji Fujimoto, and members Kuniko Koda and Chobin Zugeran. Members of the Consultative Council also visited the Ministry of Defense that same morning, and Fujimoto handed over the same proposal to Parliamentary Secretary of Defense Hajime Hirota. At the start of the meeting with Maehara, Okada said that although 14 years had passed since the agreement concluded by the Special Actions Committee on Okinawa in December of 1996, it had still not been realized. He called for the relocation of Futenma to be carried out as soon as possible, and pointed out that it would be necessary to implement interim measures that eliminated the dangers posed by Futenma and reduced the burden placed on Okinawa, taking into account the opinions of local residents. Okada urged the government to give their full support to implementing these measures. The proposal included five items: (1) Observation of Aircraft Noise Abatement Countermeasures, (2) Observation of Traffic Patterns, (3) Deployment of MV-22 Ospreys, (4) Elimination of Interference to Reception of Digital Terrestrial Broadcasts in Surrounding Areas, and (5) Others. Specifically, with regard to “Aircraft Noise Abatement Countermeasures” the proposal called for studies to be carried out to establish whether the aircraft noise abatement countermeasures agreed between Japan and the United States in March of 1996 are being observed, and if they are not being observed, for the Japanese government to made a petition to the US, and moreover, for night flights outside of the agreed hours which are “necessary for US operational requirements” to be carefully reconsidered, and to be kept to the bare minimum necessary. With regard to “Flight Patterns”, the proposal called for the study of aircraft flight conditions at Futenma being implemented by the Ministry of Defense to be speedily compiled and made public, and for the results to be reported to a meeting of the Japan-US Joint Committee Working Team, and if necessary a representation calling for improvements made to the US. Furthermore, the proposal called for the Japanese government to obtain sufficient confirmation from the US regarding the safety and noise levels to be expected of the MV-22 Osprey, as well as ensuring that this information is sufficiently communicated to the relevant local authorities. With regard to eliminating or reducing interference in the reception of digital television broadcasts, the proposal called for the necessary engineering work to be carried out. In addition, it also called for the Japanese government to carefully consider the issue of the clear zone around Futenma and of the need to increase the areas around Futenma in which residential homes receive soundproofing, based on requests received from Ginowan City. Maehara mentioned that in meetings he had held with the Okinawa Area Coordinator for the US Marines, Lieutenant General Terry G. Robling, in December of 2010, and with US Ambassador to Japan John V. Roos in January of 2011, both men had stated that the US would observe the 1996 agreement between the two nations. He said that he “took the proposal seriously” stating that the government would consider it carefully.