《和英対照・社説》

2010.05.06

《English》 Futenma base issue Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is finally showing some mettle and exercising leadership in an effort to break the deadlock over the Futenma airfield issue in Okinawa Prefecture. Hatoyama on Wednesday met with Torao Tokuda, a former Lower House lawmaker from Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture, and asked him to use his influence to settle the Futenma issue. Hatoyama has also decided to visit Okinawa Prefecture on Tuesday, midway through the Golden Week holidays, for talks on the issue with Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima. It will be Hatoyama's first visit to the southernmost prefecture since he came to office last September. Hatoyama has made encouraging remarks concerning Futenma. "I have a plan in mind," he once said. "I'm putting my job on the line (in trying to settle the issue)." The problem is that he failed to lay the groundwork or exert strong leadership to ensure that his ministers remained united on the matter. As his self-imposed end-of-May deadline approaches, Hatoyama apparently felt under immense pressure to do something. But his move came far too late. The Okinawan people are demanding that the air base be moved out of the prefecture. The U.S. government is insisting that the current agreement to relocate the base to another part of the island is the best option. In addition, the Social Democratic Party, a junior ruling coalition partner of the Democratic Party of Japan, is opposed to relocation within the prefecture. It was clear from the beginning that there could be no plan to satisfy all the parties concerned. What has Hatoyama been doing for the past nearly eight months? The proposal Hatoyama has put together would modify the current plan, which requires reclamation off the coastal area of the Henoko district in Nago to build a new facility. The Hatoyama's plan would instead build a runway on a newly built pier and transfer part of the Futenma base's helicopter squadrons to Tokunoshima. Hatoyama pledged to move the air base "at least" out of Okinawa Prefecture. He probably thinks that a plan to shift part of the burden to the island in Kagoshima Prefecture would allow him to claim that he has honored part of his promise. But about 60 percent of the island's residents held a rally to demonstrate their opposition. In his meeting with Hatoyama, Tokuda made clear that it is impossible to persuade the islanders to accept the plan. Trying to get a depopulated and economically distressed area to accept a military base in exchange for policy aid for regional development is exactly the same misguided approach as the one that has been adopted to relocate the Futenma airfield to the Henoko district. Exploring options to move the base out of Okinawa Prefecture is not wrong in itself. But it is natural for the Tokunoshima residents to put up strong resistance to hosting a U.S. military base because the island was, like Okinawa, under U.S. occupation for some time after the end of World War II. We cannot help but question the integrity of any politician who has no qualms about selecting Tokunoshima as a relocation site merely because it is not part of Okinawa Prefecture. As a permanent remedy, the government should try to find a way to move the base to Japan's mainland, even though that would be a formidable challenge and require an enormous amount of time and energy. As details of the relocation plan being considered by the government have dribbled out in media reports, Hatoyama and his ministers have clammed up, saying, "no decision has been made." Such an attitude among top policymakers has been befuddling people in Okinawa Prefecture and in the areas that were named as possible relocation sites, thereby deepening their distrust of the government. Hatoyama must clearly explain to Nakaima how he is trying to resolve this sticky problem. In Okinawa Prefecture, tens of thousands of people gathered in a recent mass rally to demand that the Futenma base be moved elsewhere. Hatoyama no longer has the luxury of not spelling out his proposal. That is all the more so if he thinks it is inevitable to ask Okinawa Prefecture to keep shouldering at least part of the burden. The prime minister should have an open and honest conversation with the Okinawa governor about how to eliminate the danger posed by the Futenma base to local residents while reducing the burden borne by the prefecture. Hatoyama's belated trip to the southern island will be a depressing one. --The Asahi Shimbun, April 29

《日本語》 普天間移設　首相、遅すぎた南の旅へ 　袋小路に入った感のある米海兵隊普天間飛行場の移設問題で、ようやく鳩山由紀夫首相が動き出した。 　首相はきのう、鹿児島県徳之島出身の元衆院議員で、いまも島内に影響力があるとされる徳田虎雄氏と会談し、普天間問題への協力を求めた。 　大型連休中の５月４日には、首相就任後初めて沖縄県を訪問し、仲井真弘多知事と会談することも決めた。 　「腹案がある」「職を賭す覚悟だ」と言葉は躍るが、首相はこれまで自分で調整に汗をかいたり、関係閣僚を強力に束ねたりすることはなかった。 　「５月末決着」の期限が迫り、みずから乗り出すほかなくなったのだろう。だが、あまりに遅い。 　国外・県外移設を求める沖縄。現行案が最善とする米国政府。県内移設に反対する連立与党の社民党。すべての要求を満たす最適解は、ありえない。はじめからわかっていたはずである。この８カ月近く、何をしていたのか。 　首相が固めた移設案は、沖縄県名護市の辺野古沿岸部を埋め立てる現行案を修正し、桟橋方式で滑走路を建設するとともに、ヘリ部隊を徳之島に分散させるというものだ。 　「最低でも県外」と約束してきた首相にしてみれば、少しでも徳之島に負担を分かち合ってもらえれば形が整うという思いなのだろう。 　しかし徳之島では島民の約６割が参加し、反対集会が開かれたばかりだ。徳田氏も、受け入れは「無理だ」と首相に明言した。過疎に悩む地域に振興策と引き換えに基地受け入れを迫るのでは、辺野古移設と何ら変わらない。 　「県外」を模索することはいいとしても、沖縄と同様、戦後の一時期、米国に占領された歴史を持つ徳之島で、米軍基地に抵抗感が強いのは当然である。そういう徳之島を安易に「県外」と位置づける発想に、そもそもの疑問を禁じ得ない。本格的な解は、時間と大変な労力をかけてでも「本土」を探ることにあるのではないか。 　政府が検討中の案が五月雨式に報道される一方で、首相や関係閣僚は「まだ何も決まっていない」と口をつぐむ。そんな態度が沖縄県はじめ、移設先として名前のあがった地域の住民を翻弄（ほんろう）し、政府への不信を高めてきた。 　この問題をどう解決しようとしているのか。首相は沖縄県知事に対し、自らの考えを明確に伝えなければいけない。先日も大規模な県民大会が開かれ、「国外・県外移設」を決議した。もはや「腹案」では通らない。 　結局、沖縄県内に引き続き負担をお願いせざるをえないと考えているなら、なおさらである。普天間の危険性除去と沖縄の負担軽減をどう両立させるのか胸襟を開いて語り合うべきだ。 　首相の遅すぎた南への旅は、重苦しいものになる。 (04月29日)