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U.S. Bases: The Reality
By SCOTT T. HARDS
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沖縄米軍基地の現状
沖縄県知事と政府との仮合意で、沖縄米軍基地縮小が検討されている。県民の米軍基地問題をめぐる怒りは、昨年の少女暴行事件をきっかけに爆発したが、筆者は沖縄問題全体についてもう一度正面から考え直してみる必要があるといっている。
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Now that the Japanese government and Governor Ota of Okinawa have reached a tentative agreement on a plan for
reducing the size of the U.S. military bases in Okinawa prefecture, I think
it's a good idea to pause for a moment to reflect on the entire
issue.
Things started, of course, with the brutal rape
by three U.S. servicemen of a Japanese girl last
fall. Those men are rightly in a Japanese prison
now, but their deed has had lasting repercussions. It unleashed pent-up anger among many Okinawans
that their home prefecture bears far more than
its fair share of the burden of U.S. bases. With over 75 percent all U.S. military facilities in Japan located in
Okinawa, it is hard to argue with that.
But great progress has been made with
agreements to close Futenma Airbase and
make other changes. Still, the planned movement of some facilities to the mainland is causing a predictable NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) backlash
among residents of areas picked for relocation.
This should pass in time.
With all that has happened, it's easy to lose one's
focus when thinking about this issue. I believe there are three crucial points that need to be remembered:
First, U.S. military personnel are not monsters. Sure, some G.I.s have committed
crimes in this country, but there are bad apples
in any barrel. I encourage anybody to visit a U.S. military base during one of their
summer open houses or for some other event
when the gates are open to the public. There you'll find some of the nicest
people you've ever met, I promise!
Secondly, Okinawa needs those bases. Let's face
it, the U.S. military presence on Okinawa makes up 10 percent of the island's economy. If the
U.S. were to pull out suddenly, it would devastate Okinawa's economy, already among the
weakest in Japan, with an unemployment rate
twice the national average and with the lowest per capita income in the country. No radical change in the U.S. base structure in
Okinawa should occur without having a comprehensive economic development plan in place. That plan hasn't happened yet.
And my third point: The world needs those bases too. Some people hold the naive belief that eliminating military
bases is progress toward world peace. That's
like saying that eliminating doctors is progress toward ridding the world of
disease. The U.S. military exists to prevent and
contain conflicts, not start them. Okinawa is in
a key, strategic location in Asia, a region that
can hardly be called stable because countries like North Korea, China and
others make military threats from time to
time. The Cold War may be over, but we still
live in a world where we must be on our toes
against possible trouble. Let's just hope the U.S. military in Japan never has to prove just how important its role in
Asia really is.
Shukan ST: Oct. 4, 1996
(C) All rights reserved
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