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Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba said Saturday that it would not be practical for the U.S. military to hold some Osprey training drills at Yao in Osaka Prefecture.
Earlier this month, Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto and Osaka Gov Ichiro Matsui proposed holding the Osprey flight drills at Yao airport to help alleviate Okinawa's burden of hosting U.S. bases.
However, speaking on a Yomiuri TV program, Ishiba said Yao airport lies in a residential area and would not have the support of local residents.
Yao Mayor Seita Tanaka has already said he is opposed to having Osprey aircraft use the airport which does not currently have any regular commercial services.
Twelve of the controversial MV-22 Osprey aircraft are currently deployed at the U.S. Marine Corps' station in Futenma. The U.S. plans to deploy another 12 sometime during the summer.
U.S. military officials say the hybrid aircraft which can take off and land like a helicopter, is critical for regional security efforts.
© Japan Today
12 Comments
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bass4funk
Then fine, just keep training in Okinawa, problem solved. This is just a little pebble that will be overcome. The military need not sweat over this. Just business as usual. Just keep everything current as it is.
some14some
Thanks for your assurance, people in Osaka will also be voting for LDP anyway !
minello7
"lies in a residential area and would not have the support of local residents." ??? and the people in Okinawa don't matter. They have the same complaint, but the politicians seem to have deaf ears when it comes from the Okinawa residents.
Stephen Jez
Yeah but people tend to forget that the major air fields in Okinawa (Kadena and Futenma) were orignally in very small villages, hardly what you'd call residential areas. But then the towns grew around the air fields, anti-base types tend to forget about this little tidbit.
paulinusa
This is usually called "Not in my backyard".
USNinJapan2
minello7
Take a look at the geography of the area surrounding Futenma and compare it to Yao. The population density under the approach/departure patterns for the former is a fraction of the latter. The situations are similar but not the same. Moving flight training to Yao, where the potential for destruction is greater in the event of a mishap than at the current location at Futenma, is not rational.
Steve Fabricant
Towns have grown around most major airports in the USA too, That's why they have noise abatement restrictions. A little tidbit for you.
realdoll
Another tidbit is that civilian land was seized and residents forced off it at gunpoint and huts bulldozed to the ground to make the bases in Okinawa. Towns grew around the base fences because they wanted to live close to their family tombs.
smithinjapan
Another of Hashimoto's bold promises dashed!
OssanAmerica
What "promise" is that? Who did he make a promise to? Last I checked the Ospreys to Osaka idea was a "proposal". Stupid, but a proposal nevertheless.
smithinjapan
Ossan: "What "promise" is that? Who did he make a promise to? Last I checked the Ospreys to Osaka idea was a "proposal". Stupid, but a proposal nevertheless."
Fair enough, it was indeed a proposal... perhaps even you could say 'offer'. I think we all know, though, that when Hashimoto proposes something he expects it to happen. I'm glad Ishiba rejected the idea. The US military belongs on or directly around the US bases, not scattered throughout the nation.
Moondog
I've been suggesting the move to Yao for 25 years, not because it's better (it's about the same, in terms of urban setting) but because it's about time the Japanese (by which I mean "Yamato") accept some of the burden of hosting the U.S. bases.
If they happen to find it onerous, then maybe it will occur to them that they don't want to host the bases any more.
Note: whether keeping the bases or not is a good idea is not the point. If they're going to keep the bases then they should spread the burden around.