Posts Tagged: okinawa

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9
Jun 10

Japan Has a New Prime Minister—After Only 8 Months

Last week was a busy week in Japanese politics news. Former Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio—the very same whose fashion choices and somewhat strange behavior made headlines a few weeks ago—resigned on June 3rd, after winning the election and becoming Prime Minister just last year on September 16th.

Hatoyama was adamant after his approval ratings dropped that he has no intention of resigning. Yet just a few weeks later, he did exactly that. Granted, he didn’t resign over horrible fashion attire, no should anyone have expected him to. (The “his bad fashion shows he’s not in touch with the common Japanese citizen” argument notwithstanding.) The actual reason he gave had to do with his failure to close the U.S. military base on Okinawa, which he promised to do during his campaign. While one could argue that he hadn’t served long enough to enact this change, Hatoyama did sign an unpopular treaty in late May with U.S. President Obama to ensure the continued existence of the U.S. military presence in Okinawa. This was mostly due to increased tensions between Japan and North Korea and Hatoyama’s desire for U.S. aid if need be.

Besides the failure with Okinawa, Hatoyama was also accused of perhaps having knowledge of a money scandal involving a top member of his party, the Democratic Party of Japan (not quite the same as the U.S. party of the same name). Facing summer elections, Hatoyama’s party asked him to step down to increase their chances of performing favorably at the next election.

Hatoyama was replaced by Kan Naoto, Hatoyama’s former deputy. Kan is actually Japan’s seventh prime minister in a decade. Why so many changes? Hatoyama’s not the first to resign by any means; it’s a much more common occurrence in Japan than in countries like America, where only one president has resigned in history. The other part of the reason for so many changes in leadership is that the nation’s prime minister is not directly elected by the Japanese citizens. Instead, Japanese citizens vote for their representatives in the Japanese parliament (the Diet). In turn, the members of the Diet elect the prime minister. The more seats a party has, the more likely that party is going to win the position, for which they usually nominate their elected leader. However, this somewhat disconnected way of electing a prime minister does seem to lead fewer Japanese people to be passionately political than many people in other nations.

Do you think Hatoyama should have resigned as soon as he failed with one campaign promise? Do you think the Japanese system of electing a leader would work in your country? Why or why not?

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22
Mar 10

Partial Control of Okinawa Returned to Japan Next Week

In a historic moment next week on March 31st, the U.S. will return control of air space over Okinawa to Japan after more than six decades of American control. If you’re not familiar with the history of America and Okinawa, take a look at this earlier entry.

America first took over Okinawa in 1945 after the end of World War II as America watched over Japan’s reconstruction. Although control of the country was signed back over to Japan in 1972, 18% of the main island effectively remains American soil in the form of American military bases. Japan has sought more control of the territory for decades—Japanese lawmakers were even worried that the problems with Toyota cars in America would impede some of the current negotiations about surrendering rights to Okinawa (read more here)—so next week’s transfer of air rights is a monumental occasion for Japan.

The decision was originally reached in 2004 to be completed by 2007, but the transfer of air traffic control took some detours as negotiations were ongoing and transfer of the technical system, called the Kadena RAPCON, hit some setbacks, so in 2008, the new deadline of March 31, 2010 was arranged.

Currently, air traffic control towers on U.S. military bases handles all military and civilian flights into an area about 56-mile radius of the Kadena Air Base on the main island of Okinawa as well as air space over the nearby smaller island of Kume.

Civilian traffic into the Naha and Kume Island airports will be surrendered to Japanese control via the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, but U.S. military traffic onto the base will remain under U.S. control. The civilian portion of the Kadena RAPCON system will now be known as the Naha Approach Control.

Negotiations between the U.S. and Japan continue over surrendering more land and control of Okinawa to Japan. However, Foreign Minister Okada Katsuya believes this is an important next step for finding a way for the American military to continue operations, albeit at a reduced capacity, in Okinawa. “Although there are various tasks related to U.S. forces in Japan,” stated Okada, “I would like to overcome each issue so that the Japan-U.S. security arrangements will be operated more smoothly and effectively.”1

Do you think that returning civilian air traffic control in Okinawa to Japan is a good idea? Why do you think the U.S. held on to control for so long?

1 Associated Press. “U.S. agrees with Japan to return Okinawa air control on March 31+.” Breitbart. 18 Mar. 2010. Breaking News. 20 March 2010. <http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9EH08D80&show_article=1>.

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26
Feb 10

Okinawa, the Tropical Japan

When most Westerners think of Japan, they think of one large curved island, roughly the size of California. However, Japan is actually made up of 6,852 islands, most of which are very small and uninhabited. (97% of the Japanese population lives on the largest four islands—that “one large curved island” is actually made up of four islands connected by bridges.) The stretch of Japan includes places with harsh winters similar to nearby Russia (Hokkaido) to tropical islands far south from the main island of Honshu. Okinawa, located almost 1000 miles southwest of Tokyo, is perhaps the most famous of the tropical Japanese islands.

Okinawa Location

Location of Okinawa relative to the main island.

While all of Japan is essentially a series of islands, most of the inhabited parts are reachable by train and car once you land in Tokyo. However, to get to Okinawa, you’ll have to take a plane or boat, even from the main islands. Okinawa Island is too far from the mainland for bridges.

Okinawa Island is the most populous area of Okinawa, but Okinawa Prefecture actually consists of hundreds of smaller islands called the Ryukyu Islands that curve southwest of the main island of Japan for roughly 620 miles. The tropical climate of the Ryukyu Islands makes Okinawa Island a popular vacation spot even for native Japanese, as temperatures are warm year-round and swimming, surfing, scuba diving, fishing and other water sports are frequent activities at Okinawa’s many beaches. You can expect temperatures to drop no more than 68˚ F. In the summer, temperatures are more frequently in the 80s and 90s.

Besides the many pleasant beach activities, Okinawa is home to many historical sites that showcase classic Japanese architecture, such as Shuri Castle and Nakagutsu Castle. Parks, caves, and capes are popular destinations for tourists looking to relax and explore. The Churaumi Aquarium, the second largest aquarium in the world, features enormous whale sharks and mantas.

There are four U.S. military bases in Okinawa, making this the most likely stop for any U.S. serviceman or woman who’s stationed in Japan. This is a rather contentious point with the Japanese government, as these bases were established after World War II as part of the US’ decision to “keep an eye on” the Japanese due to their role in the war. Obviously, times have changed, but the U.S. presence remains. Although the U.S. has agreed every few decades to give up more of its territory, U.S. law and land still makes up 18% of the main Okinawa Island.

Did you know that Japan had tropical islands? If you won an all-expenses paid vacation to either Tokyo or Okinawa (but not both), which would you choose and why? Do you think the U.S. should still have so much military presence in Japan?