Tokyo’s history of double talk about Okinawa’s problems

Asahi--Vox Populi
February 28, 2026

The U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture (Asahi Photo

The Pentagon stated recently that the United States has no intention of returning the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Japan, even after the completion of its planned relocation to Henoko—not until a longer replacement runway has been chosen for the new airbase.

This is no news, says the Japanese defense minister, and he is correct.

The above statement is validated by the “Eight Conditions” under the “Consolidation Plan for Facilities and Areas in Okinawa,” which Tokyo and Washington signed in 2013.

But there is something else that bothers me more than the veracity of the bilateral agreement.

Speaking before the Diet on Feb. 26, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reiterated the government’s traditional understanding that the relocation of MCAS Futenma to Henoko is the “only solution to the problem.”

But to interpret the government’s stance more accurately, the relocation is “the only solution to preventing the continued use of MCAS Futenma.”

And that, in fact, has been spelled out in Tokyo-Washington joint statements since 2013, not to mention in Japan’s latest Defense White Paper.

Now, why is the relocation considered the “only solution to preventing (the airbase’s) continued use,” but not to “ensuring the (airbase’s) return to Japan” or “preventing the (airbase’s) use”?

Would I be overthinking to suspect that Tokyo and Washington are keeping in mind the possibility of the airbase’s temporary use?

It was 30 years ago that Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto announced the return of MCAS Futenma.

Since then, there have been proposals about a new removable or “floating” heliport, its time-limited use as a military-civilian facility, cessation of its operation after five years, and so on.

Over the decades, however, all “promises” about MCAS Futenma’s replacement facility, made by generations of Japanese leaders, have been scrapped so readily.

Given the years of Tokyo’s dishonesty, the Okinawa prefectural government is understandably not pleased with the latest development.

Around the time of the recent announcement, the Pentagon disclosed plans to thoroughly overhaul and repair the runway at Futenma over the next eight to 10 years.

I recall the scenery I once gazed upon from atop the nearby Kakazu Hill. Will the day ever come when there will be no more military aircraft flying over closely-packed private homes?

I feel disconsolate.
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