Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, recently heard boasting of having personal connections to the newly empowered Republicans in Washington, appears energized toward achieving his campaign pledge of getting Yokota Air Base back from U.S. control.
But his eagerness is not shared by municipalities near the U.S. base, which, despite all the annoyance it causes, has long provided jobs as well as brought in central government subsidies.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government last month published its latest policy paper on the capital's airspace in which it reaffirmed its desire to seek temporary joint-use of the base and, ultimately, the site's reversion to Japan.