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On May 4, DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada and other members of the DPJ Consultative Council on Okinawa visited Okinawa and met with Governor Hirokazu Nakaima and other prefectural officials.
At the start of the meeting Okada said, “We are also dealing with the Great East Japan Earthquake, but in parallel to that we will continue to engage in debate on the future development and advancement of Okinawa.” Okada explained that this was the third visit to Okinawa by the Consultative Council this year. He voiced the expectation that “If we see what is actually going on in Okinawa, and listen to the voices of the people of Okinawa, we will be able to create a better plan” and called for a frank exchange of opinions. He added that the DPJ would “like to offer strong support from the sidelines for the discussions between Okinawa prefecture and the government.”
In response, Nakaima expressed his “sincere gratitude and appreciation” to Okada for taking the time to visit Okinawa at a time when he must be busy dealing with disaster response related matters. With regard to the response to the Great East Japan Earthquake, Nakaima said that Okinawa was prepared to do whatever it could to assist, but added, “I am extremely happy to hear you say that Okinawa has not been forgotten.” He went on to say that Okinawa prefecture “holds views that are very similar to DPJ policy regarding regional sovereignty” and said, “We would be delighted if [the DPJ] as the ruling party would work to realise these [ideas].”
Following this, the Okinawa side introduced the prefecture’s policy proposal, explaining the following “main points toward a new reconstruction for Okinawa”: (1) Realise a proposal which details a new system for the advancement of Okinawa, (2) Guarantee budget funding and freedom of use of such funding by establishing a lump-sum subsidy for Okinawa, (3) Provide state assistance for prefectural projects, (4) Enact a law for promoting the use of land formerly used by US military stationed in Japan (provisional title), (5) Transfer responsibility for control of the Okinawa General Bureau (currently under the authority of the Cabinet Office) to the Okinawa prefecture government.
In response, Okada particularly emphasized the necessity of proceeding with the creation of a system for distributing lump-sum subsidies. The DPJ side then engaged in a lively exchange of opinions with the Okinawa officials.
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