Is Tokunoshima Really Outside of Okinawa? 徳之島案は「県外」とは言えない

According to Ryukyu Shimpo (April 6 and 7 - quoted below in Japanese), Okinawa Governor Nakaima Hirokazu met with Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirano Hirofumi in Tokyo on April 1. Hirano talked about three plans - building a heliport within the inland section of Camp Schwab, reclaiming to build an artificial island off Katsuren Peninsula, and moving part of the Futenma training functions to Tokunoshima Island (photo above), a Kagoshima Prefecture island 200 kilometer north of Okinawa Island. Nakaima indicated that it was not a written proposal and he did not consider it official. Although the details and emphasis on the different components of the plan seem to differ depending on who speaks (Hirano, Kitazawa or Okada) about it, the government's mind seems to be set on the combination of these three plans - to temporarily move the training functions of Futenma to Tokunoshima Island and Camp Schwab (on the 500m X 500m heliport to be built in the inland section) while the mega reclamation project off Katsuren (White Beach) is underway.

Hirano before told Nakaima that, although the government hopes for the "best" plan, eventually they might have to settle for the "better" plan. Ryukyu Shimpo called this plan the "worst" in its March 27th Editorial, one with which Okinawa would end up with two additional bases. The new Camp Schwab heliport would simply mean transfer of Futenma dangers (noise and accident risks) to the communities of Nago, neighbouring Camp Schwab. Other concerns include destruction of the forests and red soil flowing into the ocean. The planned artificial island off Katuren is a lot bigger than the coastal Henoko plan in the 2006 Agreement.

Medoruma Shun on March 31 refers to the April 3 issue of Weekly Gendai that reported that Ota Norio, head of the Okinawa Chamber of Commerce approached Hatoyama Government right after its inception in September 2009. Ota met with DPJ's Secretary General Ozawa Ichiro on October 15 to present this plan, which had a "favourable response" from Ozawa. In the NHK news analysis program "Close-up Gendai" on April 1, it was also reported that Makino Seishu, a DPJ parliamentarian was frequenting trips to Tokunoshima Island and was often seen having intimate conversation with Hatoyama during the Diet sessions.

Governor Nakaima expressed his strong opposition to the plans saying that Okinawans wanted the Futenma Air Station to be relocated outside of the prefecture. Nakaima, however, is showing reservations to the idea of attending the Okinawa Citizens' Rally planned on April 25, to which its organizers are expecting to draw 100,000 people, about 10% of Okinawa's population. Governor's participation will be a key to the success of this rally, according to the Ryukyu Shimpo on April 7, and both Japanese and US Governments are paying close attention to it.

Above is a map of Kagoshima Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Kyushu, north of Okinawa. Tokunoshima Island, one of the Amami Islands, is the fourth island from the bottom, just south of the bigger Amami Oshima. Medoruma in his April 5 blog quotes Ota Masahide, former Okinawa Governor from a new book "Future of Okinawa" (Fuyo Shobo, 2010) on the question of why Okinawa only, out of all the 47 prefectures of Japan, was separated from Japan when it was the whole country that lost the war to the U.S. Ota discovered many shocking facts in his extensive research of the US archives. US started planning the occupation of Okinawa two years before the start of the Battle of Okinawa, which began by the invasion of Kerama Islands, east of the main Okinawa Island on March 26, 1945. Admiral Chester Nimitz ordered the occupation of the islands south of the 30 degrees latitude north. Then Assistant Secretary of State Dean Acheson testified in the US Congress that they made that decision because the 30 degrees line was the border between "Yamato(Japanese) Race" and "Ryukyu(Okinawa) Race," and also because they wanted to maximize the occupiable area beyond Okinawa Prefecture. From the Japanese perspective too, according to Ota, that the Emperor was only concerned with the protection of Japan's Mainland and protection of the Imperial System. The Emperor and the government leaders then did not consider Okinawa as inherent lands of Japan.

Medoruma quoted Ota's research and analysis because the current government's plan for Futenma relocation are ALL underneath the 30 degrees latitude north. When the Hatoyama Administratoin proudly referred the Tokunoshima plan as a "kengai" plan (a plan to move Futenma Air Station out of Okinawa Prefecture), "many Okinawans and residents of Amami islands must have perceived the deep-rooted discrimination in the minds of 'Yamatonchu'(Okinawan way of calling the people of Mainland Japan)," Medoruma says. "Presenting Tokunoshima as a "kengai" plan only reminds Okinawans of the history of Japan's unfair treatment of Okinawa and Amami Islands, and would only result in reinforcement of the resentment and anger of Okinawans."

In the above map, the 30 degrees latitude north line is just north of Kuchinoshima Island, a tiny island below the round-shaped island(Yakushima), south of mainland Kagoshima.

Technically Tokunoshima is outside Okinawa, but culturally and historically, it is not.

PeacePhilosopher

See also Ten Thousand Things blog on Tokunoshima Island.

琉球新報（４月７日）
平野氏から３案提示　普天間移設先
http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-160462-storytopic-53.html　

仲井真弘多知事は１日に東京で平野博文官房長官と会談した際、平野氏から米軍普天間飛行場移設先としてキャンプ・シュワブ陸上、勝連半島沖埋め立て、徳之島の３案を提示されたことを明らかにした。６日、記者団に答えた。ただ知事は「雑談であり協議が始まったとは思っていない。きちんと紙で提示してもらわないと、反対するしかないと伝えた」と述べ、正式な提案ではないとの認識を示した。
　知事は２日の北沢俊美防衛相との会談に言及し「平野氏の話とニュアンスが違う。（政府内で）よく整理できていない感じを受けた」と述べ、政府内で見解が統一されていないとの見方を示した。
　平野氏との会談で知事が「これは正式な協議なのか」と尋ねたのに対し、平野氏は「まだ仕掛品（しかかりひん）だ」と検討段階にあることを強調したという。知事は「構想段階を出ていないような、雑談の話を協議と言われても難しい。県民が１００％の県外移設を要求している中で、（３案は）非常に難しい」と実現を困難視した。
　最初に徳之島に移し、その後シュワブ陸上、将来的に勝連半島沖に移設するという３段階移設の報道について、知事は「よく分からない」と述べた。

琉球新報４月６日
普天間移設「徳之島にまず移転」　平野長官、知事伝達
http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-160430-storytopic-53.html　

米軍普天間飛行場の移設問題で、平野博文官房長官が１日に仲井真弘多知事と都内で会談した際、米海兵隊ヘリ部隊をまず鹿児島県・徳之島に移す考えを伝達していたことが分かった。その後、キャンプ・シュワブ沿岸部の陸上にヘリコプター離着陸帯を建設し、将来的には沖縄本島東岸の勝連半島沖埋め立てによる人工島に移設する３段階の内容だ。複数の政府関係者が５日、明らかにした。
　政府は先月２６日、岡田克也外相を通じルース駐日米大使に（１）シュワブ沿岸部の陸上にヘリ離着陸帯を造り部隊の一部を暫定的に移駐（２）この後、鹿児島県・徳之島か勝連半島沖合埋め立てによる人工島にヘリ部隊を全面的に移す―との二段構えの構想を提示した。平野氏が示した案ではシュワブ陸上に加え、徳之島と勝連半島沖いずれも移設先となる。対米打診案とは異なっており、対処方針が定まっていない政府の混乱が読み取れる。
　政府関係者によると、鳩山由紀夫首相は徳之島への移設に傾いており、２日の関係閣僚会議でも検討を指示したという。一方、平野氏は勝連半島沖に造る人工島に航空自衛隊那覇基地や米軍那覇港湾施設（那覇軍港）も移し、米軍と自衛隊の大規模な基地を造成する構想を支持している。このため平野氏は首相の意向も踏まえ、仲井真氏に徳之島と勝連半島沖双方を移設の対象にする案に言及したとみられる。
　平野氏は仲井真氏との会談で、徳之島への移設構想に触れた上で「その後、シュワブ陸上にヘリ駐機場を造りたい。将来は勝連半島沖の埋め立て地に自衛隊基地も集約したい」と説明。仲井真氏は沖縄県内への移設に強く反対した。