(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
Today’s press gathering is about the plan to build a Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) training ground in Uruma City, Okinawa Prefecture. The Ministry of Defense (MOD) plans to reorganize GSDF’s 15th Brigade, located in Okinawa, into a division by FY2027, as part of our efforts to strengthen the defense architecture in the southwestern region in accordance with the Defense Buildup Program. Expecting to meet various needs, such as additional training and accumulation of supplies on the Okinawa main island, the plan to build a training ground in Uruma City was explained to the local community last December. I believe it was February 17 of this year that I visited Okinawa, and I saw firsthand the plan’s candidate site from the sky by helicopter and received requests from Mayor Nakamura of Uruma City and members of the Federation of Okinawa Prefecture Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Branches. Taking those requests seriously, I later instructed staff to reconsider the use of the land after it is acquired, from the perspectives of ensuring Japan’s national defense and giving top priority to residents’ daily lives. Since then, up to this day, the use of the land was reviewed within the ministry. I have listened to various local opinions, directly or indirectly, and today, I once again received requests from Mayor Nakamura of Uruma City and Secretary-General Shimabukuro of the LDP prefectural federation. As a result, I determined that it would be impossible at the current candidate site for acquisition, the site of a golf course, to sufficiently meet the training needs and harmonize with the surrounding residents’ daily lives. For this reason, I decided to cancel the plan to build a training ground in Uruma City. Earlier I convened an emergency meeting of senior officials at the ministry and relayed this decision. I then asked reporters to gather here. First and foremost, MOD would like to apologize to Uruma City and to all the local residents. I have instructed staff to promptly communicate the decision to Uruma City and others. MOD believes that efforts to meet GSDF’s additional training needs on the main island are necessary for defending the lives and properties of not only the people of Okinawa Prefecture but also of Japanese citizens. Accordingly, I have instructed that the trainings involved in the reorganization of the 15th Brigade into a division be reconsidered from a wide range of perspectives. In line with the earlier decision, I just instructed relevant senior officials to reconsider the trainings through close coordination within the ministry and based on a thorough and detailed understanding and analysis of the local situation, including the neighboring residential environment.