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| February 8, 2011 |
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| Kan Government Enforces Nago City to Accept Base |
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In the end of December Kan government announced the authority of Nago City, Okinawa, on suspension of subsidy payment to the municipality. The government’s budget is prepared to facilitate the realignment program of US military and a reason of the decision is that the city authority is defiant to the construction plan of a new base in the Henoko area of the same city. The measure is a blunt discriminative, punitive act. Responding to the policy, Professor Emeritus Niizaki Moriteru held a press meeting on January 17 in the Diet building to call for citizens to launch a campaign to support Nago City by civic donations.
LET’S SUPPORT NAGO CITY BY CITIZENS’ DONATIONS!
An elderly woman wrote a letter to the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper, which was published on the January 21 edition. She writes: I was hurt by the news and at the same time I got angry against the Kan administration. The same policy was taken during the governments of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which refused to pay subsidies to Iwakuni City. The municipality had not agreed to the government’s decision. I think people in Nago City face difficulties. And therefore I would like to propose a campaign to collect donations from citizens to reach an equivalent sum with the subsidy (=1.68 billion Yen)’.
A Carrot-and-Stick Policy
In 2006 the then coalition government of LDP and New Komeito decided to freeze payment of grants to Iwakuni City (Mayor Ihara) appropriated to rebuild the city office building. It was because the local government had rejected the policy to transfer the US aircraft carrier’s fighter troops to the same city from Atsugi Base, Kanagawa Prefecture. In the fiscal 2007 the government neglected budget allocation and in 2008 it involved in the mayoral election by way of assembly members and closed the case in a success. New mayor defeated the predecessor and followed the government.
The subsidy system is a legal instrument to oblige municipalities to cooperate with the global reorganization program of the US military. The law is called Special Act to Facilitate Implementation of Realignment of US Military Forces in Japan. The law was enacted in May 2007 when the Diet approved. Under the scheme subsidies are paid to relevant municipalities proportionately: the greater the cooperation, the bigger the subsidies. It specifies:
(1) 10% when the municipality accepts the realignment program,
(2) 25% when it commits in the assessment process,
(3) 66.7% when the public construction work starts,
(4) 100% when the program is actually implemented in the municipality
This is a policy to enforce municipalities to bear burdens of a military base and the government pays, responding to the level of efforts of a municipality.
During the four years from 2007 to 2010 in total 31.1 billion Yen of subsidies were paid to 39 municipalities. Municipalities of Okinawa, including Onnason, Ginozason and Kincho, and of Kanagawa Prefecture, Zama City, were threatened by the government as ineligible and eventually obliged to obey.
Nago City Threatened by Government
In 2007 when the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was an opposition party, it objected the LDP policy, claiming the measure as a carrot-and-stick policy to impose burdens of military base. But now Premier Kan advocates reinforcement of US-Japan alliance. Responding to the premier’s position, Ministry of Defense announced to suspend payment of subsidies December 24 to the Nago City authorities where both Mayor and the assembly oppose the base plan. The amount counts 600 million Yen of balance left of the fiscal 2009, when the then-mayor had followed the government, added by another 990 million Yen of the fiscal 2010.
Defense Minister Kitazawa Toshimi arrogantly told that ‘the city authority needs to be ready, if it opposes the military plan’. Premier Kan had made a speech earlier at the beginning of the regular Diet Session and had stated ‘to rectify irrationality stemming from irrational administration’. The subsidy rejection is the very example of irrationality.
Let’s Take Advantage of Existing Tax System
Meanwhile, Local Taxation Act was revised in 2008 to set up a scheme called ‘Pay Taxes to Your Native Town’ so as to correct revenue gaps of local governments. If a resident-taxpayer donates to another city, he/she can enjoy tax reductions: when the donated sum exceeds 5,000 Yen a year, the sum of the income and resident taxes for the following fiscal year is reduced by maximum 10% of the amount paid for the previous year. The reduction applies to the portion beyond the 5,000 Yen.
The campaign Prof. Niizaki proposed is called Let’s Pay Taxes to Nago City. It takes advantage of this local tax system to encourage citizens there. Mayor Inamine declares to build up a financial structure which will not depend on the subsidies. It is a way for residents in the bigger islands to demonstrate a will of solidarity. Donation will be welcome even if the sum is less than 5,000 Yen.
Let’s join the campaign to be successful.
Please apply for:
http://www.city.nago.okinawajp/5/4969.html
Or please make a phone call to 0980-53-1212
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