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Press Tour Report - 1.
The U.S. Military Base tour course
Updated July 20. 13:00
To provide a better understanding of the current situation regarding the U.S. military presence on Okinawa, media representatives were taken on an observation tour of two U.S. military installations on the island - Futenma Air Station and Kadena Air Base. Although the tour was conducted off-base, the participants were nevertheless able to get an excellent view of the bases and their facilities from various observation points in Ginowan City and Kadena Town, where these military installations are located. City and town officials were on hand to explain the issues surrounding the bases and answer questions from the media. Following is a report on the tour.
Media representatives joined the tour and saw the current situation regarding the U.S. Military presence on Okinawa.
In Ginowan City Hall, Staffs of Department of Military Base Policy Affairs explained the problems of living in such close proximity to Futenma Air Station.
"'Touch-and-Go' - an aviation exercise - takes place frequently at Futenma Air Station. Sometimes, these training exercises will last until midnight. Fortunately, Ginowan City has never experienced an aircraft accident. However, we must take into consideration the risk of future accidents and do everything possible to avoid such a tragedy. We want to convey the feelings of Ginowan residents who must live with this risk everyday."
From the roof of the Ginowan City Hall Office we reviewed a map of the airfield, along with a proposed government plan for the site after its reversion to Japan. Officials would like to create a new cultural zone where citizens can benefit from exchanges with Asian countries, just as our ancestors did during the period of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
In Kadena Township, we were given English-Japanese leaflets explaining the current living environment in Kadena. Later, media representatives asked Mayor Tokujitsu Miyagi what the town is proposing to do with Kadena Air Base in the future. He answered by saying:
"We are now working on, not only focusing on the problems, but also how the town can create a better relationship with the base. One of such project - the "Kadena Language Institute" - started in 1998. Besides teaching English, the Institute's curriculum includes a variety of activities such as volunteer work, on the job training courses, and cross cultural communications for small children and the elderly - both on and off base."
General information: Kadena Air Base is the largest U.S. Airforce Base in Asia and it takes up 82.9% of the total land area in Kadena Township.
From the top of the roof balcony of the Kadena Township Government Office, you can see the long and vast area of the airfield.
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