GOJ TAKING HARD LINE WITH OKINAWAN OFFICIALS ON FUTENMA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAHA 000056 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR PINS JA SUBJECT: GOJ TAKING HARD LINE WITH OKINAWAN OFFICIALS ON FUTENMA REPLACEMENT FACILITY ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Newly-elected Nago City Mayor Yoshikazu Shimabukuro said he had a disappointing dinner March 6 with Japan Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga. Shimabukuro said Nukaga refused to discuss agreed plan to relocate a Marine air station to Nago City, deflecting conversation to the economic benefits the GOJ would offer if locals would accept the plan "as is." Shimabukuro was left frustrated by his inability to engage the GOJ on the details of this politically-loaded facility relocation. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Following newspaper reports of a meeting between Japan Defense Agency (JDA) Director General Fukushiro Nukaga and three northern Okinawa mayors, we contacted Nago City Mayor Yoshikazu Shimabukuro. Note: Shimabukuro was elected in January on a nuanced platform regarding the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Futenma to the Henoko area of Nago City. While Shimabukuro opposed the specific plan outlined in the October 2005 Alliance Transformation and Realignment Agreement (ATARA) report, he had indicated flexibility with regard to an amended proposal. Most Okinawans viewed this as de facto acceptance of relocating MCAS Futenma to Camp Schwab, on the rural east coast of Nago City, albeit with local interests factored in. End note. ¶3. (SBU) Shimabukuro said he, Kin Town Mayor Tsuyoshi Gibu and Higashi Village Mayor Shigeru Miyagi sought the meeting with Nukaga to discuss potential changes to the ATARA plan for replacing MCAS Futenma. Before the mayors went to Tokyo, Diet Member and JDA Vice Minister Chiken Kakazu had asked them to leave to him all negotiations with the GOJ on behalf of northern Okinawa, his electoral district. The mayors were skeptical, however, as Kakazu's efforts so far had appeared unsuccessful. They decided they had to try to do something. The secretary general of the Northern Development Council (Hokubu Shinko Kyogikai) accompanied the mayors to their meeting with Nukaga. ¶4. (SBU) Nukaga and DFAA Director General Iwao Kitahara listened briefly to the Okinawans' concerned, Shimabukuro said, before changing the subject. Nukaga said the GOJ would listen to local requests, but the implementation talks for the ATARA report were already underway between the GOJ and the USG. Thus, Nukaga concluded, he hoped he could attain their understanding for the coastal plan. Nukaga then shifted the discussion to what the GOJ could offer Nago City, such as a new obstetrician/gynecologist for the Nago Hospital. The mayors were frustrated by the meeting, Shimabukuro said, and Nukaga's avoidance of any deep discussion of how the GOJ would incorporate local concerns about the new air station into implementation of the ATARA report. NAHA 00000056 002 OF 002 ¶5. (SBU) Comment/Conclusion: Conservative Okinawan politicians have been telling us for months that Shimabukuro's election, and modifying the location of the replacement facility for MCAS Futenma just enough to reduce or eliminate flights over residential areas, were the keys to local acceptance of the plan. Shimabukuro himself told us he had to see some change to justify accepting a partially on-shore location. His readout of the mayors' meeting with JDA was the latest first-person account we have heard here of local officials feeling stiff-armed by the GOJ. REICH