(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
Continuing from yesterday, I met with Mayor Nakamura of Uruma City, Mayor Toyama of Kadena Town, Mayor Toguchi of Chatan Town, Mayor Sakima of Ginowan City, Mayor Matsumoto of Urasoe City, and Mayor Chinen of Naha City, as representative municipalities related to the U.S. military bases. These municipalities have long accepted the burden of the bases. This time, I was able to hear directly from the mayors about their current situation in person, and receive their candid views and various requests. The Ministry of Defense promised to take the views and requests into consideration, and continue to steadily produce tangible results in mitigating the impact of the bases one by one. Afterwards, I met with Lieutenant General Turner, Commanding General, III MEF and Okinawa Area Coordinator of the U.S. Forces, Japan. I told him that it is of utmost importance to strike a balance between advancing efforts to strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. Alliance, while striving to minimize the impact on the lives of local residents in Okinawa from the perspective of ensuring a stable presence of U.S. forces in Japan. In addition, based on the Consolidation Plan for Facilities and Areas in Okinawa, we reaffirmed to continue the efforts to mitigate the impact of the bases in Okinawa through the steady implementation of the realignment of facilities and areas of U.S. forces in Japan, including the earliest possible full return of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. I have also just met with the Governor of Okinawa Tamaki and heard his strong demand to mitigate the great impact of the bases. I told him that we will make every effort to steadily implement the Consolidation Plan for Facilities and Areas in Okinawa and to realize the early return of the land south of Kadena. In addition, on various issues, including incidents and accidents involving U.S. military personnel, I promised that we will make further efforts to mitigate the impact of the bases, such as continuing to persistently urge the U.S. side to address them. In particular, regarding Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Governor Tamaki and I were able to concur on achieving the elimination of the potential danger associated with the air station and its early return to Okinawa. We will continue to make efforts one by one, such as engaging in dialogue with the Governor and providing detailed explanations to Okinawa Prefecture. This visit to Okinawa has strengthened my conviction that we must make firm efforts to mitigate the impact of the U.S. bases in Okinawa. I have also reaffirmed that it is extremely important to communicate directly with the people in Okinawa while visiting the sites and confirming the situation with my own eyes. I feel that this visit to Okinawa was very meaningful.