To the dispute between Ministry of Defense and Government of
Okinawa, another ministry jumped in to support the stronger side. Minister of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery, Yoshimasa Hayashi, decided to temporarily
stop the effect of the order of Governor of Okinawa, Takeshi Onaga, to halt
construction effort of alternative facility to Futenma Marine Airbase related
to violation of conditions for breaking rocks in seabed in Henoko coastal area.
People in Okinawa elected Onaga with overwhelming support for his conviction to
stop Henoko relocation plan. A bunch of ministries in Tokyo is killing those
local opinions.
Onaga ordered Okinawa Defense Bureau, a regional branch of
Ministry of Defense, to stop boring a week ago. MoD immediately appealed to
MAFF to stop the effect of Onaga’s order, because the protection of environment
for fishery is primarily regarded as a job of MAFF in legal interpretation.
After consideration, Hayashi announced his intention to side with MoD on
Monday. Under the leadership of Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, bureaucrats in
Kasumigaseki started cooperating each other to trample public opinion in small
islands in south-most Japan.
There are some reasons for the national government to deal
with this issue in an oppressive manner. The first is that the bureaucrats want
to prove their rightness in policy execution. They strongly hate to be said
that they are against law, which is their rulebook. The national government
insisting on that there was no failure in the process of relocation plan.
Secondly, the bureaucrats firmly believe that they should follow
the opinion in Washington more than that in Okinawa. Closing their eyes on
various opinions in United States about security of Northeast Asia and function
of U.S. military base in Okinawa, bureaucrats in Tokyo have been pushing only
one option to relocate the base to Henoko. There actually is hidden intention
to build another wharf for big vessel in Henoko area, once the Marine Base will
be relocated.
Lastly, the bureaucrats dislike being underdog of autonomy.
Being on the top of power hierarchy of governmental power is what they have
been convinced in their own lives as national elites. They would oppress
regional self-determination not for protecting the nation, but themselves. They
require no discussion with the people in promoting their policy. If this
coercive policy toward Okinawa stands, there will be more serious problems in
energy issue. Even if the people elect a governor with opposition against
nuclear power generation, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will easily
kill that opinion. So, killing Okinawa’s public opinion leads to killng of democracy
in Japan.
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