U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, has been called the most dangerous airfield in the world because of its location amid a densely populated residential area. (Kenta Sujino)

EDITORIAL: Danger posed by Futenma base remains and not to be forgotten

（社説）普天間合意３０年　危険性除去　原点どこへ

Located in the south-central part of the main Okinawa island, Ginowan has a park located on higher ground that was the site of fierce fighting during the Battle of Okinawa.

The park offers a clear view of the Osprey transport aircraft lined up in the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

The base is located amid a densely populated residential area and in 2003 when he flew over it, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said it was a wonder that an accident did not occur there.

Nothing has changed about the site in the interim.

April 12 marks the 30th anniversary of an agreement between Japan and the United States to return all of the Futenma base.

After a young Okinawa schoolgirl was raped by three U.S. servicemen, the Okinawa people who had long suffered from a concentration of U.S. bases in their prefecture raised their voices in anger.

Fearing a major shakeup in the Japan-U.S. security treaty framework, the two governments put together the Futenma return as a symbolic act to reduce the base burden on Okinawa.

But on the grounds that a deterrent had to be maintained, a condition for the return was construction of a replacement facility within Okinawa.

Despite Okinawa opposition, the central government is pushing forward with the current plan to build a runway on reclaimed land off the coast of Henoko in Nago.

The area was found to have a soft foundation and difficulties in construction are unavoidable.

The initial agreement set a timetable of between five to seven years for the Futenma return, but it is nowhere close to realization.

Even if the government’s construction plan goes according to schedule, it will take another 10 years for completion.

With the continued use of Futenma leading to concerns of that becoming a permanent step because the replacement facility has not been built, concerns have also arisen about the possibility that Futenma will not be returned even if the new facility is built.

The Futenma runway is about 2,700 meters long, but the two to be constructed at Henoko will only be about 1,800 meters.

On the grounds that some aircraft would not be able to use the Henoko runways, the U.S. Defense Department in September released a document stating that Futenma would not be returned until the selection was made of a runway long enough that could be used as a replacement.

Government officials insist they have never considered the possibility that Futenma would not be returned after the replacement facility was completed, but they have not indicated how they would respond to the latest U.S. request.

A likely possibility is the use of a private-sector airport, but the government should not be allowed to remain silent while avoiding a detailed explanation of what it is considering.

The starting point of the agreement was to immediately remove the dangers of the Futenma base.

In 2004, a large U.S. transport helicopter crashed and burned on the campus of Okinawa International University located next to the Futenma base.

We should not forget that the base still contains such possible dangers.

With about 70 percent of U.S. military bases in Japan concentrated in Okinawa Prefecture, which has only about 0.6 percent of Japan’s total area, reduction of the excessive base burden is also an urgent matter.

An added factor is the shift by the Self-Defense Forces in recent years toward the Nansei chain of islands that includes Okinawa.

Without the acceptance of the local community and with the expected difficulties in construction work, questions have to be raised about whether the current plan can actually be carried out.

The two governments should revise their positions that the Henoko move is the only solution and begin the process from now of reviewing the plan by returning to the original point of the agreement.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 12

沖縄本島中南部に位置する宜野湾市。沖縄戦の激戦地だった高台の公園からは、広大な米軍普天間飛行場に輸送機オスプレイが整然と並ぶ様子が見える。住宅密集地のど真ん中にあり、２００３年に上空から視察したラムズフェルド米国防長官が「事故が起きない方が不思議だ」と語った姿は今も変わらない。
　日米が普天間の全面返還に合意してから１２日で３０年となる。米兵による少女暴行事件を契機に、米軍基地の集中に苦しむ沖縄の人々が怒りの声をあげ、日米安保体制を揺るがしかねないと危機感を抱いた両政府が、負担軽減の象徴としてまとめたものだ。
　ただ、抑止力維持のためとして、県内に代替施設をつくることが条件だった。政府は県の反対を押して、名護市辺野古沖を埋め立てて滑走路をつくる現計画を進めているが、軟弱地盤の発覚で難工事は避けられそうにない。当初、「５～７年以内」とされた返還はいまだ実現せず、政府の目算通りになったとしても、なお１０年はかかる。
　そんななか、代替施設ができず、普天間が使われ続ける「固定化」に加え、代替施設ができても、普天間が返還されないのではないかという懸念が浮上した。
　普天間の滑走路は約２７００メートルだが、辺野古で計画されているのは約１８００メートルが２本。特定の航空機には短すぎるとされ、米国防総省が昨年９月、代替として使える長い滑走路が選定されるまで「普天間は返還されない」という見解をまとめていたのだ。
　日本政府は、移設完了後も返還されないという状況は「全く想定していない」というが、米軍の要求にどう応えるのか。想定されるのは民間空港の活用であり、具体的な説明を避け、だんまりを決め込むことは許されない。
　返還合意の原点は、まず普天間の危険性の速やかな除去にある。０４年には隣接する沖縄国際大学の構内に米軍の大型輸送ヘリが墜落・炎上する事故があった。今もその危険性を抱えたままであることを忘れてはならない。
　そして、国土面積の約０・６％しかない沖縄県に、米軍専用施設面積の約７割が集中するという過重な基地負担の軽減である。近年はそこに、自衛隊の南西シフトによる影響も加わる。
　地元の納得が得られず、工事の難航も予想される現計画に、本当に実現可能性があるのか。日米両政府は今からでも、辺野古移設が「唯一の解決策」という立場を改め、合意の原点に立ち返った計画の見直しに踏み出すべきだ。
(2026年4月12日)