December,27,2013

Approval by the Governor of Okinawa for Land Reclaim in Henoko

Today, Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima gave his approval for the application for the land reclamation as part of the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma (Ginowan City, Okinawa) to Henoko, Nago City. The Happiness Realization Party has proclaimed the necessity for this Henoko relocation in line with the U.S.-Japan agreement, so we welcome this decision by the Governor.

The Futenma relocation has been at risk of consequences such as cracks in the U.S.-Japan Alliance under the erratic Democratic Party administration. During this period, in the autumn 2010 gubernatorial elections for Okinawa, the only person our party officially ran as a candidate spoke out for relocation of the Futenma base within Okinawa. Ever since our party was founded in 2009, we have continued to proclaim the need to strengthen national defense in order to eliminate the crisis we face in security. So with this approval for land reclamation in Henoko, it is clear that our party’s claims have hit the mark.

With this announcement by the governor, there has been a strong reaction by left-wing forces and local residents, but while China is still escalating its provocative acts towards the Senkaku Islands, this strengthening of the U.S.-Japan Alliance through the relocation to Henoko will be a major contributor to Okinawa’s safety, and the Japanese government ought to work on spreading this understanding.

We approve of this decision by the governor of Okinawa, but the way that issues related to national security are swayed by the decisions of the heads of local authorities remains a grave matter. In light of the confusion over the Futenma relocation, we need to point out that there is the risk that diplomatic and security policies may no longer be able to be carried out as a nation under the proposed idea to integrate prefectures into a smaller number of states, which will only bloat local power.

In addition, we request that the Abe administration both strengthen the U.S.-Japan Alliance and construct a self-defense system in view of eventual United States retreat from Japan. In light of the key principle that a sovereign nation should conduct its own defense, fundamental strengthening of our national defense through revision of Article Nine must be done urgently. Our party will continue to present the great moral principles and spirit of the nation without pandering to the mass media and public opinion.

Ryoko Shaku,
Party Leader,
Happiness Realization Party