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4TH LD: Majority says no to U.S. relocation in Iwakuni plebiscite: Kyodo+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)IWAKUNI, Japan, March 12_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING WITH PROJECTION RESULTS) A majority of residents in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, voted "no" in a referendum Sunday on a government plan to relocate U.S. carrier-based aircraft to a local U.S. base as part of U.S. plans to reorganize its military forces in Japan, according to Kyodo News projections. The outcome of the unprecedented plebiscite is nonbinding but the majority "no" vote could have an impact on other base-hosting communities and affect efforts by Tokyo and Washington to finalize the realignment plans by the end of the month as part of the U.S. strategy to redeploy its global military forces. A city ordinance requires the mayor and the city assembly to respect the results of the plebiscite from 84,700 eligible voters. The voter turnout was 58.68 percent. The vote against the Japan-U.S. plan reached last October to relocate 57 carrier-borne airplanes from the U.S. Navy's Atsugi base in Kanagawa Prefecture to Iwakuni Air Station reflects local concerns of flight noise, safety and crimes related to the base and is likely to put Tokyo in a difficult position. The Japanese government has yet to convince Iwakuni and other municipalities affected by the realignment to accept the plans, but senior officials have been suggesting they will go ahead with finalizing the agreement with Washington regardless of local opinion. Under the October accord, the United States plans to move the U.S. Army 1st Corps headquarters in Washington State to the U.S. Army Camp Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture. In exchange, 57 planes based on the U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, whose homeport is in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, will be relocated to Iwakuni. There are also plans to conduct nighttime practices at Iwakuni by U.S. warplanes to simulate take-off and landing on an aircraft carrier. The relocation, if realized, will double the number of U.S. aircraft at Iwakuni to 114. This will exceed the fleet at U.S. Air Force's Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, one of the largest U.S. bases in the Far East which hosts about 100 planes. The Iwakuni city assembly passed a resolution in June last year against the relocation. But some assembly members affiliated with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito party later changed their stance and expressed readiness to accept the plan in exchange for economic stimulus measures. This prompted Mayor Katsusuke Ihara, who has been demanding the relocation plan be rescinded, to call the referendum. But his critics say he is using the plebiscite to improve his chances of winning an upcoming mayoral election in April. Neighboring municipalities have also complained that the referendum should not be held just days before they are to integrate into a new Iwakuni city on March 20. Ihara said earlier that if the majority are against the relocation plan, he will again demand that the Japanese and the U.S. government revoke the plan. Prior to the voting, however, senior government officials both of Japan and the United States clearly indicated they will go ahead with the realignment plan. Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga hinted Friday there will be no change in the plan agreed by the Japanese and U.S. government regardless of the Iwakuni vote. Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe has also said the government has told Gov. Keiichi Inamine of Okinawa Prefecture, which will be most affected by the realignment plans, that it will reach a final agreement with the United States on the realignment regardless of local opposition. From the U.S. side, John Dyson, consul for public affairs at the U.S. Consulate in Fukuoka who spoke with reporters prior to the referendum, said Washington will not change its stance although he agreed it is important to listen to local opinions. Iwakuni Air Station is currently home to about 3,000 Marines and 57 U.S. warplanes. The base is also used by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. The overall realignment plans for U.S. forces in Japan also highlight moving 7,000 U.S. Marines out of Okinawa, mainly to Guam, and relocating functions of the U.S Marine Corps Futemma Air Station from downtown Ginowan to a new airfield on the shores of U.S. Camp Schwab in Nago, both in Okinawa. |