Tag - us-bases

 
 

US BASES

A woman undergoes a blood test in Fuchu, Tokyo, for research on the impact of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 18, 2024
Japan to study health impact of PFAS chemicals amid growing fears
Twelve local assemblies across eight prefectures urged parliament to take action after high concentration levels of PFAS were detected in recent years.
During the last round of negotiations between Washington and Seoul, then-U.S. President Donald Trump requested steep increases in South Korea’s share of defense costs.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 14, 2024
South Korea, U.S. talk cost-sharing as Seoul girds for Trump 2.0
The agreement on an unusually early start of the defense cost-sharing deals reflects unease over a possible return of Donald Trump to the White House.
Veteran peace activist Setsuko Yamazato warns of the gathering “clouds of war” in Chie Mikami’s eight-year chronicle of the militarization of Okinawa.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2024
‘Clouds of War’: The real story of Okinawa is its people
“Clouds of War” is an unwieldy but heartfelt portrait of citizens fighting back against militarization in Okinawa.
A 2015 protest against the construction of military infrastructure in Okinawa Prefecture. Many residents are also worried about the impact of a Taiwan contingency on their islands.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 4, 2024
Okinawa’s peace movement carves its own path
Many Okinawans worry about a Taiwan contingency and are angered by U.S. base relocation: Grievances that have given impetus to the islands' own diplomacy.
Construction work for the relocation of the U.S. Marines Air Station Futenma is undertaken in the Henoko are of Nago in Okinawa Prefecture in January.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 2, 2024
Top court nixes Okinawa governor's appeal against U.S. base landfill
The decision is likely to be seen as an endorsement for continued work at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma relocation site in Nago.
Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (left) and Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki hold talks at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Saturday.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2024
Defense minister meets Okinawa governor over U.S. base transfer
The meeting came over a month after the central government started construction work on a part of the new base for relocation.
The planned return to Japan of a U.S. military port in Naha has been delayed to at least the late 2030s.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2024
Relocation of Naha military port remains a long way off
The facility sits on land near downtown Naha and Naha Airport, and is drawing attention as a promising development site.
A soldier stands in front of the grave sites of fallen soldiers in Kinmen, Taiwan, on Aug. 23, 2023. Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered his military to be ready to take Taiwan by 2027, though many analysts see that as an attempt to galvanize his military rather than a timeline for invasion.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 1, 2024
How Washington is preparing for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan
It is looking at a key vulnerability — military logistics — and is setting up hubs in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure supplies are readily available.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi meets Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki at the Okinawa Prefectural Government building on Sunday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 28, 2024
Japanese government to proceed with U.S. base relocation within Okinawa
During the meeting with Hayashi, Tamaki demanded that the central government immediately stop the landfill work related to the Futenma relocation project
American President Joe Biden hugs Brittany Alkonis after giving a State of the Union in February. The wife of jailed U.S. sailor Lt. Ridge Alkonis ran a successful pressure campaign to get her husband released from a Japanese prison into American custody. 
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 24, 2024
Japan owes no apology for U.S. Navy officer’s treatment
The case of Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis is a divisive one, which both the U.S. and Japanese governments have tried to keep quiet about.
The Defense Ministry in Tokyo is one of the places newly added to the list of locations where the acquisition and use of land in nearby areas is subject to tighter regulations.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 15, 2024
Japan tightens land use rules near six U.S. military facilities
The law encourages scrutiny of land use near designated facilities and the regulation of activities there that could prevent interference of operations in the area.
Construction work is underway on Wednesday in Oura Bay in Okinawa Prefecture, the site of the coastal airfield that will replace Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2024
Futenma moves forward, but local concerns must be addressed
Originally planned to have been finished by now, the base project is now anticipated to take over nine years to complete.
Heavy machinery is used to pour in stone material from a work boat into the sea off the coast of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 10, 2024
U.S. base transfer work in Okinawa begins after state OKs by proxy
In an an unprecedented move, the national government overrode the local government's objection and approved a modified landfill plan.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki holds a news conference on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2023
Japanese government overrides Okinawa objection to Henoko work
The approval is "a milestone" for the total transfer of the Futenma air base as early as possible, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters.
Construction work goes on in the Henoko coastal district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, on Monday, with Oura Bay in the foreground.
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2023
Japan to OK base relocation project design change by proxy
The approval of the change application will mark the central government's first-ever proxy execution of a local government administrative task.
A supporter of Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki holds up a sign on Wednesday in front of the Fukuoka District Court's Naha branch saying that the court's ruling — effectively clearing the way for further landfill work to relocate a U.S. base in Okinawa — is "unjust."
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 20, 2023
Court orders Okinawa governor to approve base relocation work
The move by the high court's Naha branch circumvents Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki, who has not approved the plan amid staunch local opposition.
U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2023
Henoko base relocation project enters new phase in Okinawa
The project to relocate a U.S. military base to the Henoko coastal area is entering a new phase five years after land reclamation began there.
U.S. President Joe Biden hugs Brittany Alkonis, wife of Lt. Ridge Alkonis, on the day of the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in Washington on Feb. 7.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 15, 2023
U.S. Navy officer jailed in Japan transferred to U.S. custody
Lt. Ridge Alkonis has been serving a three-year prison term since being convicted of negligent driving over a fatal car crash.
Construction work is conducted in the Henoko coastal area in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2023
Okinawa promotion spending to fall to ¥267.8 billion in fiscal 2024
The outlay would stand below ¥300 billion for the third successive year, according to a government estimate.
A U.S. service member passes in front of an MQ-9 Reaper drone in 2018. The U.S. military in Japan has relocated its reconnaissance drone operations unit to Okinawa, despite local objection.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 25, 2023
U.S. spy drones relocated to Okinawa despite local objection
The shift is part of moves to strengthen surveillance of Chinese activities in nearby waters following a temporary deployment to the Kyushu region.

Longform

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