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社説:普天間移設 筋通らぬ「辺野古」回帰

Hatoyama's modified Futenma plan runs counter to pledge to move base out of Okinawa
社説:普天間移設 筋通らぬ「辺野古」回帰

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who had repeatedly pledged to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma out of Okinawa Prefecture, is now leaning toward building a substitute facility for the base off the Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa. But one cannot help wonder why he has changed his mind.
 「最低でも県外」と主張していた鳩山由紀夫首相はいつ、沖縄の「辺野古の海」に基地を建設する考えに転じたのだろうか。理解に苦しむ。

The Hatoyama administration is reportedly considering building a runway on a so-called quick installation platform (QIP) to be built on piles driven into the sea bottom off the U.S. military's Camp Schwab. Furthermore, the government is studying a plan to either relocate up to 1,000 airborne troops from Futenma to Tokunoshima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, or to shift the training site.
 米軍普天間飛行場(沖縄県宜野湾市)移設問題で、政府は、(1)米軍キャンプ・シュワブ沿岸部(同県名護市辺野古)に「くい打ち桟橋(QIP)方式」で滑走路を建設する(2)鹿児島県・徳之島に普天間の航空部隊のうち最大1000人を移転する、または訓練を移す--を柱にした案で最終調整しているとされる。

The government has claimed that the QIP method would pose less of a threat to the environment than the plan previously agreed upon between Tokyo and Washington to build a runway by reclaiming the sea off Camp Schwab.
 QIPは多数の支柱を海底に打ち込み、その上に滑走路などの構造物を建設する工法である。日米合意の現行案である「埋め立て方式」に比べて環境に与える影響は少ない、と政府関係者は主張している。

Still, the construction of a runway off Henoko runs counter to Hatoyama's pledge to relocate Futenma base out of the prefecture. Okinawa, especially the city of Nago that would be required to host the substitute facility, is highly unlikely to accept the modified relocation plan as some 90,000 residents adopted a resolution in a rally on April 25, calling for relocation out of the prefecture and out of the country.
 しかし、そうであっても、現行案と同じ辺野古の海に滑走路をつくるというのは明らかに首相の「約束」に反する。首相が国会などで繰り返し強調してきた「県外」とは相いれない。「9万人県民大会」で国外・県外移設を決議した沖縄、特に名護市が受け入れるとは到底思えない。

Experts have pointed out that even the QIP method would seriously affect sea creatures because the platform would block sunlight and thousands of piles would be driven into the sea floor.
 QIP方式も、滑走路による日照の遮断と数千本の支柱で、海洋生物や環境に与える影響は大きいという指摘がある。

If the prime minister approves the QIP method, it would be inconsistent with his earlier remarks describing the reclamation plan as "profanity against nature."
海の埋め立てを「自然への冒とく」と述べた首相が一転、QIPを容認したとすれば、真意を測りかねる。

Japan and the United States had considered building a runway off Henoko using the QIP method, but ruled it out because it is difficult to take anti-terrorism measures and it would cost a massive amount of money. The modified plan could spur speculation that the government has come up with the idea in a bid to drag U.S. officials, who are sticking to the previously agreed on plan, to the negotiation table.
この工法は、かつて日米間で検討されたが、テロ対策の難しさや費用面などから排除された案だ。辺野古を前提にした現行案にこだわる米国側を協議のテーブルにつかせるために考えついた案ではないか、と勘ぐられても仕方ない。

Prime Minister Hatoyama is scheduled to visit Okinawa on Tuesday for the first time since he took office, and hold talks with Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima over the relocation of Futenma base. Attention will be focused on whether the prime minister himself came up with the modified plan. He is required to provide an explanation that will satisfy not only the governor but also Okinawa residents and the Japanese general public as a whole.
 首相は4日に就任後初めて沖縄県入りし、仲井真弘多知事と普天間問題について話し合う。移設先の「辺野古回帰」が首相自身の案なのかどうかが焦点になる。首相は知事だけでなく沖縄県民、国民に対しても納得のいく説明をしてもらいたい。

The plan to relocate some of the Marines stationed at Futenma to Tokunoshima Island has also been deadlocked. The mayors of the three towns on Tokunoshima Island have expressed stiff opposition to the plan while Washington has shown reluctance to accept the plan, citing operational problems.
Late last month, Hatoyama asked former House of Representatives member Torao Tokuda, who had been elected from Tokunoshima and has influence on the local community, to cooperate in shifting some Marines to the island, only to be rejected.
 一方、徳之島への一部移転については、首相は先月28日、同島出身の有力者である徳田虎雄元衆院議員に協力を要請したが拒否された。同島の3町長は受け入れ拒否の姿勢を崩さず、米政府も部隊運用上の理由から強い難色を示し、暗礁に乗り上げたままだ。

Tokuda explained Tokunoshima residents' anti-U.S. forces sentiment, pointing out that the island was split from Japan's mainland following the end of World War II and placed under the control of U.S. forces until 1953. It goes without saying that the prime minister should take local residents' sentiment into consideration in studying the possibility of moving some U.S. Marines to the island.
 徳之島は戦後、本土と分離され1953年まで米軍政下に置かれるなど複雑な歴史を持つ。徳田氏は首相にこの経緯を指摘した。「県外」の主力として徳之島への移転を検討するにあたっては、こうした島民感情を考慮しなければならないのは当然だろう。

There remains less than a month before Hatoyama's self-imposed deadline for settling the Futenma relocation issue at the end of May. The prime minister has declared that he will stake his position on the settlement of the issue before the deadline.
 残り1カ月。首相は「5月末決着」に「職を賭す覚悟」を明言している。

The government is required to gain consent from the community of the area that will host a substitute facility. During his visit to Okinawa, Prime Minister Hatoyama should show his determination to settle the issue by forming a consensus among local residents.
決着には移設先地元の合意が不可欠だ。沖縄訪問時には、その覚悟の中身を示してもらいたい。

(Mainichi Japan) May 1, 2010
毎日新聞 2010年5月1日 2時31分
by kiyoshimat | 2010-05-02 09:45 | 英字新聞

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by kiyoshimat