Okinawa protests to govt over US parachute drills
TOKYO: Okinawa protested to the central government yesterday over the use of the US Kadena Air Base for parachute drop training the previous night, despite a bilateral agreement that such drills should be held on a remote island.
“We cannot help but feel strong resentment because the Kadena base has been continuously used for [parachute] training,” Deputy Okinawa Gov Kiichiro Jahana said in a meeting with Japanese foreign and defence ministry officials at the prefectural government building.
“There has been growing mistrust among people in Okinawa,” Mr Jahana said.
US forces conducted a parachute drop at the Kadena base on Okinawa’s main island on Tuesday night, the fourth such exercise this year, despite a 1996 agreement with Japan that stipulates such training be carried out on Ie Island in the prefecture.
More than 20 US servicemen parachuted down to the Kadena base by 8pm on Tuesday, the Okinawa prefectural government said. Earlier at around 1.45pm local time, two Marines landed in a field about 100 metres away from the designated airport facility in the village of Ie.
Before the deputy governor lodged the protest, Okinawa Gov Denny Tamaki told reporters the parachute drop at Kadena was “a clear violation of the accord” and that the prefectural government has repeatedly called for a halt of such exercises at the base.
Toshinori Tanaka, who heads the Defence Ministry’s Okinawa bureau, said the latest incident is problematic and will be discussed with the US side.
“We believe the US explanation given so far is neither sufficient nor appropriate,” Mr Tanaka said.
Hiroshi Kawamura, the Foreign Ministry’s official in charge of Okinawan affairs, said it is “regrettable that the drill was conducted without a shared understanding between Japan and the United States”.