Japan drops new SDF training site plan in Okinawa

How boneheaded are these officials. What is the biggest complaint Okinawa people have is there are too many bases on their land making too much noise and posing a danger to the citizens. So what does the GSDF want to do, build another base on the already scarce land! Why not just take one of the US bases that they have and use it? I really feel for the people of Okinawa how badly they are treated by both countries!

The Japanese people should be more grateful to the US.

The site used to be a golf course, surrounded by many residences. SDF bought the land and planned to build training facilities there. Opposing voices against the plan naturally arose from the area residents in no time. The issue has become a political one, and the city council was unanimous in opposing to it.

The plan to build an SDF training center in the middle of a residential area was a nonstarter after all. But the site is SDFs already. They may use it for other purposes. In that case, a U.S. base must be closed and returned in its place. Definitely.

So, don’t complain when it sits there for years unused, not bring in any tax revenue and becomes a haven for homeless people…think there aren’t any ? Guess again.

USFJ and JSDF are all part of the same gang. And so, the tie-up between the two forces means that Okinawa's burden of hosting so many bases won't change at all if SDF bases are built one after another while USFJ bases remain intact.

WA4TKGToday  02:07 pm JST

So, don’t complain when it sits there for years unused, not bring in any tax revenue 

There is a tax on the land even if there is nothing there, so it will bring revenue regardless. Not much tho.

The plan to build an SDF training center in the middle of a residential area was a nonstarter after all. But the site is SDFs already. They may use it for other purposes. In that case, a U.S. base must be closed and returned in its place. Definitely.

Aww, as the US military continues to work to lessen it's foot print in Okinawa, the JSDF is taking up the empty space and working to ensure the security of JAPAN.

All the anti-base, Japanese or US, people have to wake up and smell the proverbial coffee. Time to stop singing "Kumbaya" around the campfire and realize that Okinawa IS and always will be the southern gateway to Japan, and any way one looks at it, it IS responsible for protecting Japan, more so in many ways than other prefectures.

The inability to acknowledge that FACT is choosing to keep one's head buried in the sand!

There's a big difference between building a residential area near a base and building a base near a residential area. The same goes for airports, pig farms, and a lot of other things.

There's a big difference between building a residential area near a base and building a base near a residential area. The same goes for airports, pig farms, and a lot of other things.

Keep in mind though, the fact that saying this area proposed for the training center is "adjacent to a residential area" is like saying the city of Nago is adjacent to Camp Schwab and the landfill project there.

Give or take a few kilometers that is.

All the anti-base, Japanese or US, people have to wake up and smell the proverbial coffee. Time to stop singing "Kumbaya" around the campfire and realize that Okinawa IS and always will be the southern gateway to Japan, and any way one looks at it, it IS responsible for protecting Japan, more so in many ways than other prefectures.

Maybe Japan needs to revise its laws on autonomy to place national defense as cleanly outside issues where the local governments have a say. If national defense needs a base to be put there, that's it.

The same should apply for any project that involves more than a single prefecture (I'm thinking of that rail project that's being blocked selfishly by Shizuoka).

The same should apply for any project that involves more than a single prefecture (I'm thinking of that rail project that's being blocked selfishly by Shizuoka).

The national government can and does override decisions that prefectures make when it comes to something that benefits the country as a whole, or is decided upon as being essential, by the same national government.

All one has to do is look at the bases in Okinawa. The national government acquiesced this time, for this situation, but it wont in other areas