Source: wechat official account: buyidao has been authorized to reprint
Writing / Hu Yidao & amp; Li Xiaofei knife
A general election of local counties and cities in Japan has affected the nerves of senior Japanese and even American officials.
This is because it is likely to become the forefront of “events in the Taiwan Strait”. The people here are worried that they will become the first people to be involved in the conflict in the Taiwan Strait.
Before the election, the Japanese government repeatedly instigated “something happens in Taiwan”. The rumor that “once Danny Yucheng is re elected governor, China will invade Okinawa” even circulated on the Japanese domestic Internet.
However, the Okinawan people still chose Yucheng Danny, which the Japanese government did not support.
Because Okinawa was once one of the bloodiest battlefields in World War II. Therefore, people here don’t want to be victims again, and don’t want their fate to be controlled by others.
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In the Okinawa Prefecture governor election, the anti relocation faction won for the third time in a row.
On the 11th, votes were counted in the election for the governor of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Dani Yucheng, the current governor of binnogu, who opposes the relocation of the Futenma Airport (inowan city) to Nago City, has been re elected (recommended by the Japanese Constitutional Democratic Party, the Communist Party and other opposition parties and regional political parties, and the Okinawa public).
Other competitors, including candidates supported by Kishida government, were defeated by Yucheng Danny. Although Kishida government has suffered a blow, it will still insist that relocation is the “only solution”.
At noon on the 12th, Kishida held talks with Yukio Moriyama, chairman of the LDP election strategy committee, at his official residence. The main content of the two people’s discussion was the election of governor of Okinawa Prefecture, where Yucheng Danny was re elected. It can be seen that this matter has made the Kishida government very scratching its head, and the real pressure of the Kishida government also comes from the United States.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary hiroichi Matsuno stressed at a press conference on the 12th that the relocation policy will remain unchanged and the danger of Futenma airport will be eliminated as soon as possible. He said that the airport, which is located in the residential area, must not be allowed to exist, pointing out that “I think this is a consensus with local residents”.
This governor election coincides with 50 years since Okinawa was handed over to Japan. Yucheng’s proposal to revitalize Okinawa’s economy damaged by the spread of COVID-19 and solve practical problems such as child poverty has won the support of more Okinawans.
Okinawa was under American occupation until it was handed over to Japan in 1972. To this day, according to the Japan US bilateral security treaty, most of the 50000 US soldiers stationed in Japan and 70% of the US military facilities are still in Okinawa, and the area of Okinawa only accounts for 0.6% of Japan’s land area.
Yuki quanchuan, a special researcher at the Okinawa Economic Environment Institute of Okinawa International University, said on the 12th that even though the Japanese government had a lot of political maneuvers before the election, Danny Yucheng still won re-election, which can be said to be the result of the calm judgment of the Okinawan people.
Yuki quanchuan said that the US military contaminated Okinawa’s water resources with a chemical containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS), and US soldiers committed a series of vicious acts. For Okinawans, the United States is the real threat. The Okinawan people express strong dissatisfaction with the Japanese government’s practice of continuing to set up and retain US military bases in Okinawa without eliminating the threat posed by the United States. This situation also determines the outcome of this governor election.
“For the Okinawan people, the real threat posed by the United States is far greater than the potential risk posed by China.” Yuki quanchuan said that during the election campaign, governor Yucheng always advocated that the Japanese government should establish trust relations with its neighbors through peaceful diplomacy and ease tensions. This idea was strongly supported by the Okinawan people in this election.
When talking about the direction of the US military base in Okinawa, Yuki quanchuan said that the Japanese government would not change its plan to move the Futenma airport of the US military to biannogu. He said that if the Japanese government does not adjust Japan US relations and relations with China, Yucheng will have a very difficult road ahead. As for the US military base, the key lies not in Okinawa Prefecture but in the Japanese government.
Recently, the United States has made continuous moves in the southwest frontier of Japan, and Yuki quanchuan expressed “firm opposition” to this. He expressed the hope that China would calmly respond to this, which was supported and supported by the peace loving people in Japan and Okinawa Prefecture. Yuki quanchuan also said that Japan has frequently reported on China’s military exercises and tried its best to play up the “China Threat Theory”, but few media have focused on the threat brought to China by Japan US military exercises. Therefore, the Japanese government and media should avoid words and actions that escalate the situation.
Yoshiji fukuwon, director of the Okinawa all Island Conference on preventing the construction of the new frontier base, a non-governmental organization, said that there were many lawsuits involving US military bases between Okinawa and the Japanese government. Governor Yucheng’s competitors this time included Masayoshi saki, former mayor of onowan City, who was supported by the Kishida regime. If the opponent is elected governor, these lawsuits between Okinawa and the Japanese government may be “written off”.
Yoshiji fukuwon said that people living in Okinawa all hope to reduce the size of the US military base, but for many years, the Japan US security treaty has been above the Japanese Constitution. Japan’s foreign affairs, defense, trade and other issues are decided by the Japanese government, but Japanese politicians and county governors have different ideas.
The Japanese government made decisions without listening to the opinions of the local people. This is a violation of the human rights of the local people and a threat to the autonomy of local governments. This is the true feelings of the Okinawan people.
Yoshiji fukuwon said that legally, the Japanese government is the central government of Okinawa, but in the history of Okinawa after the war, the Japanese government has always treated Okinawa differently. It can even be said that the Japanese and American governments have been bullying Okinawa, and the Okinawan people are still facing this problem.
“It is conceivable that he will lead the Okinawan people to continue to fight against the Japanese government by peaceful means under the tremendous pressure of Japan and the United States.”. To be sure, the Okinawan people must also continue to struggle and regain their human rights and local autonomy with their own strength.
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Why does the United States not want jade city to be re elected?
The main reason is that the United States has taken Japan as its military forward hub in the “Indo Pacific region”, and Okinawa is the top priority of this hub. However, Yucheng, the governor of Okinawa Prefecture, is a strategic “hindrance” of the United States, and has always called for further reduction of US troops stationed on this island near the Taiwan Strait.
In recent years, the Japanese government, citing the “growing military threat” from China, North Korea and Russia, has shifted the focus of national military strength construction to southwest Japan, Okinawa and its remote islands, and has also promoted the substantial improvement of Japan’s military capacity and budget in the next five years.
Within the jurisdiction of Okinawa, it is very possible to deploy new anti missile radars and long-range missiles.
In particular, many Okinawans are worried that because Japanese LDP politicians have repeatedly shouted that “Taiwan is doing something, Japan is doing something,” and there is a marked increase in US Japan military exercises, the Japanese government is likely to deploy more and more missile defense systems and amphibious attack capabilities on Okinawa’s outer islands near Taiwan and other geopolitical hotspots.
The Naguo island in Okinawa is only 111 kilometers from Taiwan, so Okinawans are worried that they will become the first people involved in the conflict in the Taiwan Strait. Some people even said bluntly, “I feel terrible living here!”
Charles Flynn, commander of the US Army in the Pacific region, said a few days ago that even if the “Oriental shield 2022” US Japan joint training launched at the end of August has ended, he is not in a hurry to withdraw the “haimas” multi barrel rockets and other weapons and equipment used in the joint training from a Japanese Road self defense force base on the edge of the East China Sea.
During a visit to the Japanese land self defense force base on Amami island in Japan’s Ryukyu Islands, Flynn said, “we will leave some equipment here” until the next exercise. He stressed that “this is an opportunity for us to pre deploy our capabilities”.
Look how explicit this remark is. It means that the next time the United States and Japan will conduct exercises in the Ryukyu Islands, the weapons of the US military will be moved around in less time, and the forward deployment of advanced US weapons can be realized.
This year, Japan and the United States also have two scheduled joint training exercises. This means that these equipment may remain on Amami island for at least a few months, including the “haimas” multi barrel rocket with a range of up to 500 kilometers.
Since the United States has provided Ukraine with a large number of “haimas” multi barrel rocket systems to assist the Ukrainian army in fighting the Russian army. Using these weapons, the Ukrainian army effectively attacked Russian military bases, arsenals, troop assembly sites, command centers and other targets far from the front line. Therefore, the US military believes that once “something happens in the Taiwan Strait,” it can also deploy “haimas” in Japan.
For the Amami base opened in 2019, it is one of a series of new military bases built by Japan in its southwest islands. The United States and Japan hope to mainly deploy anti-ship missiles and air defense missile systems at this base, and the goal is “to deter any attack from the people’s Liberation Army.”.
It is reported that Flynn and the chief of staff of Japan’s land self defense force have gone to the electoral base to inspect. It can be imagined that the purpose of senior US military officials’ inspection there is to see which weapons are convenient for deployment.
Japan’s new defense minister yasuichi Hamada has also stopped covering up. He disclosed in a recent interview with Japanese media that Japan will build more military fuel depots and ammunition depots in the Ryukyu islands near Taiwan, in order to better prepare for a possible “crisis in the Taiwan Strait.”.
The weapons that the United States and Japan plan to deploy in the Ryukyu Islands in the future are likely to include land-based medium-range missiles.
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A military expert said that Yucheng’s reelection in the Okinawa prefectural governor election showed that the majority of Okinawans wanted the Americans to “go out” on the issue of the relocation of US military bases.
Okinawans have two reasons: first, the United States has stationed troops in Okinawa for 70 or 80 years, and they should not stay there forever; Second, the US and Japanese governments keep saying that the purpose of stationing troops is to protect Okinawa’s security. Can there be no security without US troops? Other places in the world without US troops are still safe, or even safer. The United States incites incidents in the name of safeguarding security, which makes Okinawa unsafe.
In particular, after Pelosi fled to Taiwan, the confrontation between China and the United States around the Taiwan Strait further intensified, because Okinawa is very close to Taiwan Island. If the United States takes military intervention in Taiwan, it will definitely use its base in Okinawa. Okinawans believe that the turmoil in the Taiwan Strait has nothing to do with Okinawa. Why should Okinawa bear the consequences of insecurity? What Okinawans oppose is war, and it is the United States and Japan that aggravate tension.
Xiang Haoyu, an expert on Japan, said that the biggest problem faced by Okinawa for a long time is that about 70% of the US military bases in Japan are concentrated locally, resulting in too much pressure and burden on a very small part of Okinawa.
Previously, putianma airport was built in the center of the city. Some planes made a lot of noise when taking off and landing, and parts often fell down to hurt people, so they had to move to the seaside. But moving to the seaside also has the problem of destroying the local ecology and fishery caused by land reclamation. Therefore, the general trend of US military bases in Japan is gradually decreasing, and some of them are also moving to Japan. However, some places on the mainland are also unwilling to accept US military bases, and the relocation is relatively troublesome, so the process is relatively slow, and it is difficult to respond to Okinawa’s calls and demands for reducing US military deployment in the short term.
An expert on Japanese issues said that the Japanese government had also adopted a policy of being gentle to Okinawa in the past. For example, Fumio Kishida had visited Okinawa and made some promises, including some economic benefits. But in fact, in the eyes of Okinawan people, Okinawa is relatively backward in Japan’s overall economic development. In recent years, Japan’s economy as a whole has also been stagnant, prices have risen, real wages and incomes of ordinary people have declined, and the gap between the rich and the poor has widened. Therefore, the people are more reluctant to see tension in the surrounding areas, and they hope that the government can invest more in epidemic prevention and economic construction in Okinawa.
However, it is clear that the Japanese government’s policy tendency is to substantially increase military spending, rather than invest in sustainable development, economic and tourism development in Okinawa, and so on. Okinawa was originally a region rich in tourism resources, but now it is clear that the potential of this part has not been brought into play.
Why does Kishida insist on moving? Da Zhigang, an expert on Japanese issues, believes that according to some declassification, former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s downfall in that year was largely due to his failure to take care of the United States in moving Futenma. Therefore, Kishida is very clear about the risks if the relocation of Futenma base is not carried out according to the intention of the United States, because Japan and the United States have reached an intergovernmental agreement.
Da Zhigang believes that the Okinawa issue determines the level of Japan us cooperation to a certain extent. If Okinawa is not settled, it will affect many of Japan’s and the United States’ next armament plans, including increasing the so-called defense capability and how to use Okinawa as a base to deploy to threaten China and the Korean Peninsula.
Okinawa is the area with the most concentrated and equipped us military bases in Japan.
In addition, Okinawa is very close to Diaoyu Island, Taiwan Island and Chinese Mainland. For the purpose of containing China from going to sea, Okinawa is naturally in a very important strategic position. Therefore, although the anti war forces have formed a constraint on the Japanese government, in the future, the United States and Japan are still likely to go their own way and persist in not reducing the US military base on Okinawa despite public opposition.