The mayor of Nishinoomote City, Japan, Toshiyuki Itami, said Wednesday (Oct. 7) that he opposes the Japanese government’s plan to acquire Mageshima, a Japanese island in Kagoshima Prefecture, as a training site for U.S. aircraft carriers based in Japan. Japan’s Defense Ministry has previously said it wants to acquire Mageshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture as a training site for U.S. aircraft carriers based in Japan. Toshisuke Yabata said the island has “a lot to lose” by building a carrier training facility on Māo.
Mamoru Island is administratively part of Nishino-omote City, Kagoshima Prefecture. The island is located on the south side of Kyushu, Japan, about 12 kilometers west of Tanegashima. According to the data, the area of Mamoru Island is about 8.2 square kilometers. Since the island has no rivers suitable for agriculture, the inhabitants gradually moved out. With the removal of the last inhabitants on April 21, 1980, Mamoru Island became uninhabited.
NHK reported on Wednesday that the mayor of Paltan said that if U.S. naval aircraft were to train on the island, they would inevitably bring noise and impact on the fishing industry, and would lose the island’s forests and other natural features.
This is the first time that Mr. Itami has spoken out clearly against the construction of a U.S. naval training base on Mamau Island, Kyodo reported. He had previously sent a letter of inquiry citing inadequate explanations regarding the Defense Ministry’s base construction plan. After receiving Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo’s reply, Mayor Itabashi said that Nobuo’s reply “does not eliminate any uncertainties. The reply document pointed out the advantages of Mamau, but did not specify the detailed steps involved, nor the estimated amount of financial transfers to the local community.
Although there is a local expectation that the fiscal measures will have an economic impact, Toshiyuki Yaabata believes that it is the responsibility of those living in the present to build a city that is not dependent on the base economy.
The plan announced by the Japanese government in August states that two new runways will be built, and the environmental impact assessment process will begin as soon as this fall.
Sources say that in the future, in addition to naval training, will also consider moving the U.S. military base in Okinawa “Fish Hawk” transport aircraft to the island for training, in order to reduce the burden on the U.S. military base in Okinawa.
The U.S. military bases in Japan were established in 1945 after the U.S. occupation of Japan, and remain an important part of the U.S. military’s global strategy, and their survival is considered an important basis for the U.S.-Japan military alliance. The headquarters of the U.S. Seventh Fleet is located in Yokosuka, Japan.
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