(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
Today, I have two announcements at the outset. The first concerns the LZ Phoenix helicopter landing pad at Camp Schwab in Okinawa Prefecture, where noise caused by the takeoffs and landings of U.S. military aircraft has been an issue in the local community. For some time, we have received requests from Mayor Toguchi of Nago City and the local residents for the helipad’s early removal. In January of this year, I informed Mayor Toguchi that we were coordinating with the U.S. side toward the closure of LZ Phoenix. Today, I would like to share the progress made toward its closure. Arrangements have been made with the U.S. side to close LZ Phoenix after conducting renovation work at LZ Rail, which is also at Camp Schwab, and consolidating the necessary functions there. Accordingly, at yesterday’s meeting of the Japan-U.S. Joint Committee, the two sides agreed to carry out site preparation and other work as part of the renovation work of LZ Rail. The specific timing of the closure will be notified once our coordination with the U.S. side has been completed. To fully address the concerns of the local community, Japan will continue making efforts to close LZ Phoenix as early as possible.
Second, Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen of Finland will visit Japan, and a Japan-Finland defense ministerial meeting will be held at the Ministry of Defense on October 26, next week. I had the pleasure of meeting Minister Häkkänen for the first time in person in Ankara, Türkiye, in July of this year. It is a great pleasure to welcome Minister Häkkänen soon after our last meeting, just as we promised then. At a time when the security of the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific is becoming increasingly inseparable, the minister’s visit to Japan has extreme significance for further strengthening the cooperation between the two defense authorities, and I wholeheartedly welcome his visit. In recent years, Finland has been fundamentally strengthening its security policy. One example is the revision of its law to allow nuclear weapons to be brought into the country, something that had not been allowed previously. During the meeting, we will exchange views broadly on our respective security environments, including Finland’s threat perceptions and policies, share views on the regional situation, and hold candid and substantive discussions toward further deepening defense cooperation and exchanges between Japan and Finland. I would like to take this opportunity to deepen my relationship of trust with Minister Häkkänen. That concludes my two announcements at the outset.