ID :
129280
Wed, 06/23/2010 - 08:17
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/129280
The shortlink copeid
Court turns down suit against use of Okinawa land for U.S. bases+
NAHA, Japan, June 22 Kyodo - The Naha District Court on Tuesday turned down a suit challenging the government's expropriation of land lots for the use of U.S. forces in Okinawa, including land on which the Marine Corps' Futenma air station is located.
A three-judge panel led by Presiding Judge Naoto Hirata acted on the suit filed
by 144 landowners in Okinawa Prefecture who argued that the U.S. military
presence in Japan itself runs counter to the war-renouncing Constitution.
During the court battle, the government insisted that Japan is obliged to
provide land lots to the United States under the Japan-U.S. security treaty,
adding that the provision of the land is necessary and reasonable.
Under the a special law governing the use of land by U.S. forces in Japan, the
government in December 2007 allowed for the continued use of some 16,500 square
meters of land by U.S. forces. The land lots comprising this total include
those of Futenma base and Naha port.
The 144 plaintiffs, who own about 13,000 square meters, or 78 percent, of the
land, filed the suit in June 2008.
They argued that the 2007 government decision must be repealed, saying that the
stationing of U.S. forces in Japan violates the Constitution, which bans the
country from having military forces.
They also claimed that the Japan-U.S. security treaty and the special law on
land use both are at odds with the Constitution.
Among the plaintiffs is Yoichi Iha, mayor of Ginowan city which hosts the
Futenma base.
The 144 are 11 so-called antiwar landlords, who refuse to provide their land
due to their wartime experiences, plus 133 supporters who each own a small lot
of land.
The Futenma base covers an area of 4.8 million square meters of land, of which
12,800 square meters, or 0.27 percent, are owned by the antiwar landlords,
according to the Defense Ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau, which handles
affairs related to U.S. forces and Japan's Self-Defense Forces.
Landowners are not allowed to visit their land assets, except for a few events,
such as ''bon'' holidays.
One of the antiwar landlords also owns a 113-square-meter land plot at Naha
port facilities managed by the U.S. Army.
In May, Japan and the United States reaffirmed a plan to move Futenma air
station from densely populated Ginowan to a coastal area in Nago, also in
Okinawa Prefecture.
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who earlier vowed to relocate the
Futenma base out of Okinawa, stepped down last month. His successor Naoto Kan
pledged to honor the Japan-U.S. accord.
==Kyodo
A three-judge panel led by Presiding Judge Naoto Hirata acted on the suit filed
by 144 landowners in Okinawa Prefecture who argued that the U.S. military
presence in Japan itself runs counter to the war-renouncing Constitution.
During the court battle, the government insisted that Japan is obliged to
provide land lots to the United States under the Japan-U.S. security treaty,
adding that the provision of the land is necessary and reasonable.
Under the a special law governing the use of land by U.S. forces in Japan, the
government in December 2007 allowed for the continued use of some 16,500 square
meters of land by U.S. forces. The land lots comprising this total include
those of Futenma base and Naha port.
The 144 plaintiffs, who own about 13,000 square meters, or 78 percent, of the
land, filed the suit in June 2008.
They argued that the 2007 government decision must be repealed, saying that the
stationing of U.S. forces in Japan violates the Constitution, which bans the
country from having military forces.
They also claimed that the Japan-U.S. security treaty and the special law on
land use both are at odds with the Constitution.
Among the plaintiffs is Yoichi Iha, mayor of Ginowan city which hosts the
Futenma base.
The 144 are 11 so-called antiwar landlords, who refuse to provide their land
due to their wartime experiences, plus 133 supporters who each own a small lot
of land.
The Futenma base covers an area of 4.8 million square meters of land, of which
12,800 square meters, or 0.27 percent, are owned by the antiwar landlords,
according to the Defense Ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau, which handles
affairs related to U.S. forces and Japan's Self-Defense Forces.
Landowners are not allowed to visit their land assets, except for a few events,
such as ''bon'' holidays.
One of the antiwar landlords also owns a 113-square-meter land plot at Naha
port facilities managed by the U.S. Army.
In May, Japan and the United States reaffirmed a plan to move Futenma air
station from densely populated Ginowan to a coastal area in Nago, also in
Okinawa Prefecture.
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who earlier vowed to relocate the
Futenma base out of Okinawa, stepped down last month. His successor Naoto Kan
pledged to honor the Japan-U.S. accord.
==Kyodo
