Ospreys Nesting in Okinawa

Marina Higa & Akiko Sunagawa, OCJC

“It might sound so simple, but I just could not stand watching Ospreys flying across the Okinawan sky,” Masayuki Chinen, a representative of the Team-Ryukyu who is participating in rallies against Osprey, said in a firm voice.

Chris Willson, Copyright 2012

It has been over a year since the controversial V-22 Ospreys were deployed in the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa. Given the Osprey’s storied history of infamous accidents and a nickname as the ‘widow-maker’, people in Okinawa are frequently holding protests, aiming to eliminate Ospreys and eventually American bases from Okinawa.

“There have been so many accidents regarding Osprey in the USA and there is no assurance that accidents will not happen in Okinawa. In fact, there was a huge crackup accident at the local elementary school called Miyamori elementary school in 1959, and there was another one at Okinawa International University in 2004. I felt I cannot let the same thing happen again in Okinawa,” Masayuki says.

Since the establishment of ‘Team-Ryukyu’, Masayuki keeps studying Okinawa, its culture and the various problems as well as telling younger generations about those matters. Masayuki believes that the most important thing for younger generations is not to be neglecting their civic duties to be conscious about what is happening and exercise their right to protest whenever they can.

Justin McCurry, The Guardian, 2012

“The Team-Ryukyu and I are working to eliminate Ospreys, let alone the US bases from Okinawa. It will take a long time I know for sure, but I believe we can make it happen.” On the other hand, an American lawyer who teaches at Okinawan Christian University, Mr. Weston Watts who performed an in-depth survey of the Osprey and its environmental impacts says that the situation at hand is very difficult to tackle from the civilians’ side.

“In terms of the law, it is very difficult to change the circumstance in Futenma,” he commented. “In the States, if there is a significant impact on the environment we can adapt the N.E.P.A. (the environmental law) and ask them to make a big detailed report, and the public can comment on it to make a change. However that law is only for the US domestic, so if Okinawan people wish to investigate more about Osprey and the environmental impacts, they have to rely on Japanese government to enforce that kind of law and ask the US military to cooperate with Japanese researchers for objective reports.”

According to Mr. Watts, the US military deployed Osprey in the Futenma base because it was planned about 30 years ago, for the replacement of CH53. He said it would be very difficult to reverse the plan which was decided then. “However, they should have waited longer.” He says. “At least they should have waited seven or eight years to get enough statistics about flying time record and its accident rates to reason with Okinawans.”

Naha and Tokyo have vastly different degrees of interest.

However, one of the real reasons why Okinawa is angry is that the Japanese government is always trying to make Okinawa ‘understand’ what they – the government – are doing, on behalf of the USA. What the government should really do is to tell the US government what Okinawa wants, but on the contrary the government is now playing a role of being an America’s spokesperson. They are not telling America to retract the deployment but forcing Okinawan people to ‘understand’ the situation.

The American bases have been in Okinawa for more than half a century. During those times, local people’s opinions were not even asked or considered once.

However, with the huge protests of Okinawan people and its history of accidents which caused mortal danger, now must be the time for both Japanese and American government to reconsider the shape of the US military bases’ in Okinawa in the future.