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| March 1, 2011 |
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| State Objects Nago City |
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A remark made by former Premier Hatoyama Yukio has provoked harsh criticisms: he said ‘deterrence, which I have mentioned, meant a kind of convenient lie’. Two weeks before that statement, local newspapers of Okinawa had published an article on the front page: State Files Petition against Nago City. Both of the former premier’s words and the claims of local media focus on a new military base to be constructed off the coast of Henoko area of Nago City. The state’s petition urging to cancel the city’s decision constitutes a forcible posture of the Kan government.
POWER ABUSE AND ADVERSE BEHAVIOR OF STATE GOVERNMENT
As for the Hatoyama’s statement, our weekly put an article written by Ms Azato Eiko in the last edition in the column Letter from Okinawa. She analyzed the problem from the viewpoint of Okinawa’s residents, criticizing with sarcasms.
Major papers distributed in the main, larger islands of Japan report, in effect, that due to the Hatoyama’s remark the construction plan of new US military base in Henoko has faced greater difficulties. The media attributes responsibility to the former premier for his thoughtlessness. That big media are indifferent how people feel in Okinawa, as well as the carefree words of ex-Premier, has incited indignation among them.
Deterrence is a dangerous concept to hasten military build-up. The Hatoyama’s lie, however, must not be used as an excuse to enforce Okinawa Prefecture to accept the plan. As Ms Azato points out, such a carefree, irresponsible remark itself throws the island’s people into the inferno. People living in the main islands should be aware of the fact and understand it, and mass media, too.
Government’s Unusual Response
Major newspapers distributed in the Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu Islands hardly reported, or more precisely, did no report, on the state’s petition of objection against Nago City. According to the article on the front page of the Okinawa Times dated January 29, the developments are explained:
‘The Okinawa Defense Bureau filed allegation January 28 against Nago City to withdraw the city’s decision to forbid the environmental investigation of lands and waters of the site Henoko for a purpose to sustain the construction plan to alternate the US Futenma Air Station. The bureau has presented a document against the city in compliance with a law, Administrative Complaint Examination Act.’
Administrative Complaint Examination Act provides citizens with opportunities to protect the rights and benefits when a public office causes damages through illicit acts. The Defense Bureau’s case is very rare, almost impossible: the state files allegation against a municipality.
The legislation has objectives:
(1) To open a path for citizens to save the people’s rights and benefits in the simple and speedy manner in terms of complaints caused by public offices which may have committed in an illegal act or unreasonable policy or may have abused public authority, and
(2) To ensure appropriate proceedings of a relevant government.
Therefore the law does not cover allegation from the state, the proper entity of power.
Furthermore, the response of Defense Bureau is unusual. The city authority only could know about the fact after finding ‘a letter of allegation put on the desk of Director of the Administration Department.’ The Bureau had not made any prior announcement to the city. Meanwhile the Okinawa Defense Bureau held a press meeting in the room of the Government of Okinawa building to announce publicly about the presentation of letter of allegation.
Blatant Abuse of Power
We remember that in the end of last year the Ministry of Defense made a decision to suspend payment of state’s subsidies for hosting the US military bases to Nago City. It was because the city authority opposes the construction plan. The US-military-related subsidies are paid to host-municipalities in the scheme in which the more cooperative with the government a relevant municipality is, the bigger sum of money is paid.
Defense Minister Kitazawa Toshimi, after announcing the decision of suspension, told boldly: ‘if the city opposes the state’s policy, it should be well ready for that’.
This is a good example of a sudden change of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). It had made a pledge to relocate the base outside the Okinawa Prefecture as the least condition, and thus it succeeded to be the government party in the 2009 general elections.
The coalition governments of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito used to deploy vessels of the Self Defense Forces in order to threaten resistance actions in the water off Henoko. Presentation of a letter of allegation and suspension of subsidies – these represent abuse of power of the DPJ, which is not different at all from the previous administrations.
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