Eighth Okinawa gubernatorial election since the Futenma return agreement reveals prefectural residents' distrust and fatigue over Henoko relocation

Votes will be counted on the 13th in Okinawa Prefecture's gubernatorial election, the eighth since the agreement was reached to return U.S. military base Futenma. 30 years since the Japan-US agreement. The return of Futenma, which was the centerpiece of Okinawa's effort to reduce the burden on the base, came with the condition that it be relocated within the prefecture, and the issue of whether to accept relocation within the prefecture continued to be an issue in the recent gubernatorial election. While there is still no prospect of return, new ``conditions for return'' have emerged from U.S. official documents, and the faces of the prefecture's residents are filled with disbelief and fatigue.

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Kamiojana, Ginowan City is located just below the runway approach course of Futenma Air Base in the central part of the main island of Okinawa. Fighter planes and transport planes take off and land overhead, and the roar echoes throughout the day and night. Chieko Oshiro (72), president of the local community, sighs, ``Every time a U.S. military plane flies over these children, my desire for them to be returned grows stronger.Why is this situation left unaddressed?''

It was in 1996 that then-Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and Ambassador Mondale announced the return of Futenma Air Base. Oshiro vividly remembers hearing the news at the community center and celebrating with his friends.

However, the return came with the condition that it be relocated to Henoko, Nago City, in the northern part of the main island. Opposition movements grew, calling for ``no more U.S. military bases to be imposed on Okinawa,'' and progress toward the return of Okinawa was slow. Although Oshiro hoped for an early return, he struggled with the question, ``Is it okay to let the people of Nago go through the same pain?''

In 2004, he was faced with the reality of Futenma Air Station, which was said to be the ``world's most dangerous''. A large helicopter crashed at Okinawa International University, which is adjacent to the same airfield. Ms. Oshiro, who had just picked up her high school student son from the university library the day before, was ``horrified.'' They realized that their lives were in danger.

In 2009, the Democratic Party of Japan came into power, promising to relocate the facility outside the prefecture and overseas. Although the administration felt relieved that it would be freed from the troubles surrounding the relocation within the prefecture, it returned to Henoko the following year in 2010. Disappointment among the prefecture's residents turned into a backlash, and an ``all-Okinawa'' movement broke out, transcending the boundaries between conservatives and progressives to oppose the relocation within the prefecture. However, Oshiro doesn't want to take any further detours, saying, ``I couldn't become an all-Okinawa (member).''

The deadline for the return of Futenma Air Base, initially confirmed by the Japanese and U.S. governments, was "within five to seven years." The agreement has not been kept and has been postponed to ``2014,'' ``as soon as possible after 2014,'' and ``2022 or later.'' Recently, soft ground was discovered under the sea near Henoko, and it is said that the return of the island will not take place until January 1936.

Nowadays, there are growing doubts that Futenma Air Base will not be returned after all. This comes after the existence of a document stating that the U.S. Department of Defense will not return the islands unless the Japanese government selects a longer runway than the one at Henoko has been revealed.