Accumulation of Accomplished Facts

The governor of Okinawa, Hirokazu Nakaima, approved an offer of Ministry of Defense for changing method of constructing a military airport in Henoko district of Nago city on Saturday. Lost in gubernatorial election last month, Nakaima is going to step down next Tuesday. It is highly unusual for an outgoing governor makes a highly unpopular decision. Nakaima sold local democracy to the national government. People in Okinawa are furious on his betrayal.

The change Nakaima approved was additional bank protection for landfill and new construction of temporary road. After reelected in January, the Mayor of Nago city, Susumu Inamine, has highly been negative for cooperating with the national government that had been unilateral in constructing alternative U.S. Marine Base of Futenma in Henoko. Because it was likely that Inamine would reject offer of using road or port legally under control of Nago city, Ministry of Defense asked the government of Okinawa to allow alternative construction plans. Nakaima accepted them as a maneuver for faster construction.

Incoming governor, Takeshi Onaga, has been asking Nakaima to leave the decisions to him. Political will of Okinawan people showed in the gubernatorial election was against constructing the base in Henoko. Onaga thought it was legitimate for new governor to decide whether the local government should promote the plan of Defense Ministry. “It was regretful. I am going to decide further changes of method and implement people’s opinion,” told Onaga.

There still remain two major changes in the construction. One is change of method of transporting soils produced by landfill. The assessment of it is still going on in Okinawan local government and will take long time. Another is change of plan for making alternative stream of a river around Henoko. Onaga will deal with those two issues.

What Nakaima and Ministry of Defense is doing looks like simply deteriorating the hostility between Okinawa and Tokyo. The further the government takes steps for relocation in Henoko as it likes, the stronger people’s protest against Tokyo becomes. Actually, four candidates of Liberal Democratic Party in Okinawa in the election of the House of Representatives have been facing antagonisms from voters, jeopardizing their reelections. The ridiculous belief of the national government that they can defeat local opinion with accumulation of accomplished facts making matters worse and worse.