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U.S. Official: Okinawans are “masters of manipulation and extortion”

The Asahi Shimbun has obtained a transcript of an off-the-record speech in which Kevin Maher (director of Japan affairs at the U.S. State Department) said some pretty nasty things about Okinawans:

According to students who attended the speech on “Military Bases and Their Impacts in Okinawa” at the State Department on Dec. 3, Maher started off by explaining the general situation surrounding U.S. forces in Japan.

In the process of the presentation, he delved into cultural traits, referring to the Japanese tendency to build consensus.

Maher went on to suggest that by pretending to seek consensus, Okinawan people were trying to get as much money as possible from Tokyo, according to the students.

Maher was quoted as saying “Okinawans are masters of manipulation and extortion of Tokyo.”

Maher also pointed out that Okinawa’s main industry was tourism. While an agricultural industry existed, “other prefectures grow more (goya) than Okinawa,” Maher said, in reference to the key vegetable eaten by local residents.

“Okinawans are too lazy to grow goya,” Maher allegedly said.

Other points Maher supposedly raised included the Japanese tendency to differentiate between “tatemae” (face value) and “honne” (true intentions) when speaking and that while “Okinawans claim MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) Futenma is the most dangerous base in the world, they know it is not true.”

He went on to point out that other commercial airports in Japan are also built in densely populated areas, according to the students.

He also reportedly said that Okinawan politicians will agree to a deal in Tokyo only to return to Okinawa and claim they did not reach an accord.

Tetsuji Shingaki, a prefectural assembly member who heads the Okinawa chapter of the Liberal Democratic Party, blasted the reported comments as “discriminating against Okinawa. Such a person should step down from the post as director of Japan affairs.”

Maher served as consul-general for three years from 2006 through 2009. The Okinawa assembly resolution noted that Maher had suggested during his tenure in Okinawa that the Futenma airfield was not particularly dangerous.

Maher currently oversees the negotiations on the Futenma relocation issue.

Maher seems to have denied the accuracy of the quotes:

Maher said of the account provided to Kyodo that he “cannot control how individual students themselves might interpret remarks” and “it would therefore not be appropriate” to attribute any specific remarks to him “based upon secondhand information coming from students or others.”

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, who is in Japan to meet with the Japanese government, will be apologizing for the “misunderstanding” that happened:

Campbell said Tuesday he plans to offer a personal apology for ”misunderstandings” stemming from Japanese media reports about alleged comments by a senior U.S. diplomat disparaging the people of Okinawa, but called the reported remarks neither accurate nor reflective of Washington’s view.

—

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39 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - March 9, 2011 at 10:54 am

Categories: Foreigners in Japan, Politics Tags:

ponta

United States Department of States Briefing
December 3rd, 4pm, at the Department of State

Participants
-Department of State:
Mr. Kevin K. Maher, Director of the Office of Japan Affairs
-American University:
14 Members of Alternative Break Trip to Okinawa, Japan, Winter Break
2010, “U.S. Military Bases and Their Impacts in Okinawa, Japan”

http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-174372-storytopic-231.html
http://tepido.org/ LB

It was also (re-)reported recently that during his tenure as consul in Okinawa Maher challenged the local government for allowing building permits for residences in residential areas near the base.

Imagine that.

Okinawans, building residences, in a residential area, on their land.

I know it is wrong to judge people on appearances, but in this case it is safe to say that someone who looks as much like Dean of Students, Ed Rooney as this bozo does is, indeed, a dick.

Tony D

“Okinawans, building residences, in a residential area, on their land. ”

…and then watch as people move into those houses, and then bitch and moan about the noise from the base. Like what happens at virtually EVERY airport/base EVERYWHERE in the world. It’s common bloody sense to protest a development that would obviously cause problems in the future. (Not even taking into consideration opinions that the base was dangerous in the first place- surely building houses closer to the base flies in the face of that?!)

http://tepido.org/ LB

Like what happens at virtually EVERY airport/base EVERYWHERE in the world.

True enough. And I have little sympathy for folks in Miramar whose houses were destroyed when an F/A-18 crashed into them while trying to land – the base was there first, there was nothing off the end of the runway when it was built and folks decided to build houses right off the end of an active runway and other folks then decided to move into those houses – you get what you pay for. The only real government fault there was that, IIRC, the Navy used to own a lot more land off the end of the runway but decided to sell it off to “cut expenses” – although how much “expense” is incurred by an empty swath of desert I can’t imagine. The land was sold to developers, who put houses on it.

However, it is one thing for the US government to point that fact out to US citizens on US land. It is something else entirely for the US government and military to seize and occupy someone else’s land (even given the fundamental correctness of the initial seizure), kinda-sorta “give the land back” to Japan, but then effectively extort the Japanese government to not only supply the land for free (to the US), but pay for all upkeep of the land and facilities even as the US uses them, and then complain about the fact that the rightful inhabitants of that land want to live on it and/or deny that Okinawans ever lived on that particular piece of Okinawa!

It’s common bloody sense to protest a development that would obviously cause problems in the future.

Yes – which is why the Okinawans have been protesting the development of the bases for decades now, I believe? If the US wants to avoid creating such a situation, they can leave. We’ll manage without them.

takahide

his dim-face looks like a Hatoyama
leitmotiv

Is that why those municipal buildings in Okinawa are so posh?
BC

Few things that irk me about this story.
1) It was an off-the-record discussion. The school organizers are to blame for not making this extremely clear to the students.
2) They are trusting students going on an “alternative winter break” as sources, and their reliance on these “sources” has blown up into an international issue. Quite petty and pretty bad journalism. Full disclosure: I have a Master’s from AU (2009), and work on the side with their students.
3) When he made the reference to the construction of housing, he was referring to how they built up the area around the base and put themselves in a dangerous position. Which came first, the residential area or the airstrip? The airstrip. He was not making a comment on sovereignty as it is now being perceived.
4) Could they have picked a worse picture?

http://tepido.org/ LB

1. Scheduled speeches by public officials are never “off the record”.

2. Of course – students (plural) who were there and took notes are not reputable sources. Please.

3. Which came first – the Okinawans and their land, or the US airstrip? Hmmmm…. lemme think about that. The Okinawans are not putting themselves in a dangerous position by living on their land. The Japanese government, at the behest of the US, and the US military are putting the Okinawans in danger by running an airbase in the middle of an Okinawan city. Now, the US insists that they were there first, that when they showed up there was nothing there, and that the Okinawans only arrived later in search of jobs on the base, set up a shanty town, and that shanty town grew into the current city.

Which of course ignores the fact that there were Okinawans on Okinawa long before the US ever even existed, and they lived in that area, and we can prove this by the fact that there are prewar graves within the fence at Futenma.

But let’s set that aside – this is the same man who insisted on accompanying a boatload of Marines on a recreational trip to Ishigaki Island, and when locals protested he screamed insults at them. The US Consul to Okinawa – personally and publicly insulting locals. No wonder one of them dumped a cup of hot coffee into his lap at Starbucks. Too bad they couldn’t have gone back in time and done it to his dad before lil’ Kevin was spawned.

4. He looks like a dick in any picture. Google him and see for yourself.

GTG

any links for the Ishigaki Island story? Sounds like a good read.

http://tepido.org/ LB

Found a reference here
GTG

Thanks!

http://www.ayameinmymind.blogspot.com Ayame

I love you for this comment!

As someone of Okinawan decent, I feel that his rude remarks were so offensive and unnecessary!

So thanks for clearing it up~

anona

Wow. He’s so right on the money it’s scary. Turns out the State Department really does know its stuff. When you add this to the quality of the reports that Wikileaks released, you’ve really got to give them credit. They are the best in the world at what they do.
BadWolf

“4) Could they have picked a worse picture?”

For a minute there I thought it was Nigel from the Foreign Office.
FullFrontal

Maehara resigned and then Maher will follow suit?
Maehara and Maher…
Is this a pure coincidence?

Anyway, I love his mustache. It’s so adorable.
Karina

His remarks abut goya are ridiculous. I don’t live in Okinawa, but if Okinawa people are too lazy to grow them (which they are NOT), why do I see goya from Okinawa at my local supermarkets? I don’t like goya, but my family finds them delicious, including Okinawa goya. Like the US diplomats in Europe who wanted ‘revenge’ for the European countries for not wanting genetically modified food, I get the impression that many US diplomats are disrespectful to other countries.

Japan pays lots of money to the US for the bases, which the US government basically complains if Japan tries to eliminate it or decrease the amount, not taking into consideration Japan’s poor financial situation. And they have the audacity to claim that Japan is extorting money from the US? How ironic when it’s the other way round.

Todd

Those remarks are a euphamism about Okinawan laziness. Anyone who’s done any gardening knows that goya practically grow themselves – just put the seeds in the ground and watch them grow. They grow well in poor sandy soil, the vine climbs just about anything, and they need very little special care. He’s emphasizing how lazy the Okinawans are. Part of that fact stems from the fact that they’ve been getting big compensation from Tokyo for so long, they are addicted to it, like crack cocaine.

ponta

”He’s emphasizing how lazy the Okinawans are.”

And that is making Okinawa people angry: Okinawa people are not lazy at all.

neno

I kinda remembered Vincent Gallo.
http://www.bunendo.com/blog/rental/archives/buffalo%2766.jpg
http://theinconvenienttruthonwhaling.blogspot.com/ kujirkira

The whole situation is jacked.
We’ve been going through BRACs for decades now, but not closed any bases in Japan to my knowledge. In the past decade we’ve also scaled back significantly in Germany. And I seem to recall recently a congressman stating that we should start looking at scaling back in Japan.

In the midst of 2 ongoing conflicts, we have essentially deployed a 3rd front in Japan as a holding force to ward off potential aggression against Taiwan and Korea. It’s a situation that, quite simply, is not very sustainable. Especially amidst military cutbacks and some downsizing in at least one of the services (AF).

From a strategic point, Futenma may have been the wrong base for Okinawans to go after first. The Marine Corps’ organization structure is very rigid and is not keen to see anyone leave Japan: 3 mega units (MEFs), 1 on East Coast, 1 on West Coast, 1 in Japan. Ergo, moving people out of Japan would be seen by the Marine Corps as weakening the 3rd MEF and bringing it’s existence into question.
Furthermore, the helo elements in Futenma would ostensibly be the air element of a MAGTF which directly supports the ground elements in Okinawa by transporting them, their armor, their supplies, etc. Those helicopter squadrons are married to their infantry counterparts and one isn’t leaving the island without the other.

That said, there is ample space on both Kadena and Iwakuni. Iwakuni would be less than ideal since it’s well away from Okinawa, where the ground units are strategically located to respond in a timely manner for both potential incidents in Korea and Taiwan. Nonetheless, at least 1 Helo squadron would easily fit there (and often times there is 1 helo squadron sitting around the tarmac in Iwakuni anyway.)
Meanwhile, there’s even more space in the Air Force’s posh Kadena setup. Last I checked, they’ve got a full 18-hole golf course nudging up against the flight line. So when the Pentagon and US State Dept said there’s no room on Kadena or Iwakuni — they were flat out lying.

I can only guess at the real reasons that DPJ met with such obtuse obstinacy over a proposal that, ultimately, would benefit both US and Japan if it could be viewed in an objective and calm manner. But I would point out the following factors:
- DPJ sent all the wrong messages with a bit of snake rattling about putting us in our place. Stupid. And they repeated the same mistake with China.
- USMC and USAF don’t always like to work together over the radio, let alone as next-door neighbors. It’s not uncommon to hear something along the lines of “those are Air Force zoomies, they shoot Marines [accidentally out of incompetence because AF doesn't have their head in the game]“. I imagine both services would oppose moving a MAG to Kadena on general principle and seek excuses to avoid it.
- The Pentagon never likes to give up anything, out of principle.
If you give them a budget, they will spend every single cent of that budget. At the end of every FY, the comptroller will call every unit and inform them that they have to spend $xx,000.00 in the next couple of days. It’s not a suggestion to spend it either. They will make sure every penny gets spent so that they can “justify” the full budget on paper and demand even more next year.
I imagine their approach to bases is essentially the same. If you want to close a base, you probably have to pry it from their cold hands in order to get it. In this case, the “game” is even easier for them since the situation in Okinawa is more convoluted (than a US State Gov’t telling them to gtfo) and they can play everyone off of each other. Okinawa vs. Tokyo vs. US State.

By exciting the reactionary portions of US Government before even making advances to an allegedly “liberal” Obama Administration, DPJ made a huge mistake.

Now you throw in a douchebag like this, and it becomes even more obvious.
It seems like this guy is more interested in playing up jingoistic tendencies than acting as an effective intermediary and protecting US interests while seeking international compromise.
We’re not getting anything accomplished by having jackasses like this represent us and our interests. I hope he does get fired.

Level3

Just on the military spending every penny, that’s pretty much standard procedure for any part of any government anywhere. Which sucks for the taxpayer.

What he said may be true, or at least his view, so it gets down to 2 sides

1. He should never say undiplomatic things, BECAUSE HE IS A DIPLOMAT. Diplomats are supposed to represent their government professionally and not piss off anyone, regardless of personal opinion. Thus he should be fired.

2. However, should there not be some honesty for the sake of education of future diplomats and international relations types? If giving a talk to students, what’s the point is you just tell them all the flowery, shiny happy people version of current events? And thus it comes to a sort of privacy issue. Students running to the media to report comments they don’t like from a lecture? How is that cool?

This trend needs to be addressed. What kind of rights or privacy can any lecturer or teacher expect? Do lecturers and teachers need to make some sort of copyright warning at the start of each presentation? Every kid in your class these days is carrying a phone capable of both audio and video recording you. If you say something politically incorrect, even if it’s true, even if it serves to educate or illuminate a different point of view, your career could be put in jeopardy.

Which then makes us wonder why these students DON’T have audio recordings. Should teachers preemptively record their own lectures in case they need to counter incorrect (maybe deliberately) reports from students?

Sueichi

So you are saying that Okinawans are a bunch of lazy drunkard parasites?
http://theinconvenienttruthonwhaling.blogspot.com/ kujirkira

I think #2 is also an issue of professionalism which arises as an issue here because of #1.
If he can act #1, #2 ceases to be an issue. Or at least becomes much less of an issue.

Some of the things he said were kind of “personal” and not constructive either in a diplomatic sense or in an educational sense. He should indeed line out how some things actually work. The issue is that the way he works appears to be in a very unprofessional manner, and thus when he tells them “what really goes on” — it’s also very unprofessional.
If he needs to get into some nitty gritty details, like accusing people of being lazy or extorting their own governments — he should not use specific examples.
Realistically speaking, if it’s something that would normally be classified (and wikileaks has demonstrated that many summaries/opinions like this often are classified) — he shouldn’t be bringing it up at all.

Was it his personal opinion that Okinawans are taking Tokyo for a ride? Or is that what LDP and/or DPJ complained to him about? Is that kind of thing even relevant to the issue from his position? Isn’t that an issue that Tokyo, instead, would be dealing with?
IMO, all he’s accomplished in this bit is further justifying the fears of Okinawans. That they are being abused by behind-the-door deals between Washington and Tokyo, neither of whom take them seriously. He’s given them ammo for all their worst fears. And, like it or not — true or not, that is how it’s going to be spun and perceived in Okinawa. As a Diplomat, he should know at least that much.

In any case, if you are going to be inflammatory — especially about an issue which is still seething under the surface — you should at least have the common sense to use a Hypothetical situation to make your point.

http://tepido.org/ LB

Furthermore, the helo elements in Futenma would ostensibly be the air element of a MAGTF which directly supports the ground elements in Okinawa by transporting them, their armor, their supplies, etc. Those helicopter squadrons are married to their infantry counterparts and one isn’t leaving the island without the other.

Ah, but one is supposed to leave the island, remember? The ground units are (supposedly, someday) moving to Guam (which says it doesn’t want them either, and can’t support that many more bodies on the island). Japan even agreed to pay for the move!

Yet Japan cannot move the helos off Okinawa because the Corps and US Government make the same argument you just did – “The helos must stay on Okinawa to support the ground-pounders”.

But the ground-pounders aren’t going to be in Okinawa….

“Move the helos and the ground element stays put in Okinawa!”

Ah, blackmail… got it.

Oh, and about Kadena – you have to remember that to a zoomie, being “out of land” while simultaneously maintaining an 18-hole golf course is not a contradiction. The presence of a golf course is the minimum acceptable standard for a permanent Air Force base. If there was no golf course, they would have to pay each and every airman a hardship duty allowance. And that adds up.

http://theinconvenienttruthonwhaling.blogspot.com/ kujirkira

I believe you arrived to the same conclusion already, but to reiterate for the sake of consensus….
Regarding ground troops moving out, I’ll buy it when I see it.

There is a large misconception that US military is in Okinawa for Japan. I don’t think they are. I think this goes hand-in-hand with the misconception about Japan’s “military” being weak or non-existent. They have manpower and they have top-quality equipment — all they lack is experience. If wiki can be trusted — Japan is #7 spender on military, and their troop levels per capita are on par with China and Canada.

We’re in Okinawa because of Taiwan/China followed as a reserve element for Korea.
I remember about 10 years ago there was constant talk about moving both Futenma and Iwakuni to Australia. I never got the impression that we were serious about that, however.

It’s odd hearing military commanders defend the presence of bases in Okinawa “for Japan”, because it’s completely hollow to me. However, for political purposes they’re pigeonholed into that situation. Can you imagine the fallout if we openly stated what is geographically obvious? That ~20,000+ military personnel are a stones throw from Taiwan for… Taiwan.

http://tepido.org/ LB

The US military has bases within Japan to protect US interests. To the extent that US interests coincide with Japanese interests, it could be fair to say US troops are based here “for Japan”. However it is never a good idea to make one pillar of your defense a military that owes allegiance to another country. Take for example the Senkaku Islands: the US says that, in accordance with its treaty obligations with Japan, it will defend those islands if China attacks them. Wonderful. And what happens if China decides to actually get serious and declares that any country supporting Japan will be considered hostile and will be attacked? China can take out Washington if they really wanted to. Now if they did that they could kiss a whole lot of their own cities farewell but then again wars are rarely started based on an objective risk-assessment scenario.

And how many Americans would be willing to go to war with China over a few Japanese rocks? More than a few Americans bitch now about having to defend Japanese ingrates, and America has not actually been asked to do anything other than sit on an island at Japanese taxpayer expense!

No, if things really went bad America would likely do a quick recalculation of benefits and risks, and decide that the risks of fighting China far outweighed the risks of being seen as an honest partner by the Japanese. Remember, we’re talking about the same America that had North Korea on the ropes after freezing their assets and keeping pressure on them, and was pressing the Norks on their missile, nuclear, counterfeiting, drug-running and kidnapping programs hand-in-hand with their Japanese allies, right up until the Norks said “Pssst – wanna make a deal about the nukes? Then dump the Japs!”

And the US, ever willing to have sweet lies whispered in its ear (over and over and over again!) by the Norks said “OK!” And then bitched at Japan when Japan kept bringing up the kidnapping issue, or the missile issue, or the drug-running issue by telling Japan to “look at the big picture” and “get with the program”.

With a friend and ally like that…
http://theinconvenienttruthonwhaling.blogspot.com/ kujirakira

I think there are a lot of people who, at least prior to the 2 ongoing debacles that began in the previous decade, were willing to go to war with China over any pretext.
Today, if anything happened, we’d be in a heap of trouble.

US Military is already strained to it’s max attempting to do business in a 1990s deployment sense. We either need to outright occupy Iraq and Afghanistan with Permanent Duty Stations or call no joy and pull out of one, most likely Iraq, or both.
In a world where I was Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff (lol…), 3rd MEF (99.9% of Marine Corps Forces Japan) would be permanently taken out of Japan and dropped in Afghanistan. 31 MEU and 1x MEUs would swap AORs to reflect the change. I’m not sure where 31 would deploy from being that Afghanistan is land-locked, but 1x would replace them in Sasebo.
In its place, a permanently forward-deployed MEB drawn from 1st MEF would go to Schwab w/their combined MAG in Kadena. Iwakuni could go to the Air Force if they need the flight line space (sorry, only 9 holes…)

That would cut USMC presence in Okinawa down by around 3/4ths since not only the overall Presence of Force would be more than cut in half, but most of the useless HQs suckups, lackeys pushing papers, bored forklift drivers, extraneous auto mechanics, etc would be left back in Cali. In this kind of realignment, an entire MACG that currently does nothing in Futenma could be slashed to a handful of people.

I can’t say what could be done to minimize USAF presence — but people rarely complain about the Air Force being in town. Though they might if Zoomies have to leave base to get their golfing in I can already imagine all those Skylines racing around Okinawa in search of greener pastures.
Comment

“And how many Americans would be willing to go to war with China over a few Japanese rocks?”

I would. When I used to be in the U.S. military (in the Kanto area) I got along with my host nation of Japan splendidly. I have a great deal of respect for Japan and its people, and would defend them with my life. If Japan were attacked, I would volunteer again in an instant.
http://tepido.org/ LB

Thanks for the support, Comment, that would make 2 of us, maybe 3 if Kujirakira is along for the ride also.

Against a couple million PLA troops.

Sounds about right – shall we roll?
http://theinconvenienttruthonwhaling.blogspot.com/ kujirakira

I don’t know about China, but I’d sign up to help right now. =/
Hope you’re all safe.

moominsean

insulting okinawans? he must be from tokyo!

ponta

Do people Tokyo insult Okinawans?
I live in Tokyo. I have heard nothing of the sort, except for one old gentleman who got jilted by an old lady in Okinawa , but he is from Kanagawa.

islandview

Why has Hillary Clinton not fired or removed this clod from his post?

I agree with LB comment
1. Scheduled speeches by public officials are never “off the record”.

His speech was held at a State Department facility and he was asked to talk to the students because he is a diplomat and supposedly has some knowledge of the situation in Okinawa, to where those students travelled a few weeks later.
His excuse that this speech was ‘off the record’ is just as stupid as what he said in that speech, Okinawan grow the majority of goya in Japan, and it is delicious.
His comment about the Okinawans being ‘masters of manipulation and extortion’ is true if you refer to the policitians, especially the current Governor.
Otherwise, the everyday average people of Okinawa are some of the nicest I have ever met in the world.

THe one student from the speech that they have interviewed on Japanese TV has the last name MIYAGI, and that is one of the most common family names in Okinawa! Maher should have known that.

BTW, did you know that Maher’s wife is Japanese? Not Okinawa, but Japanese. I saw both of them a few times out in town shopping when he was ‘in charge’ at the US COnsulate in Okinawa.

Hillary, the Japan-US relation is strained enough, and the Futenma issue has gotten far out of hand. Fire this guy and make him apologize.
haildamage

the bases in japan including okinawa are mutually beneficial to both sides. of course the japanese pay to support them and they are getting a bargain for their money. japan would have to greatly increase military spending if the american forces were to leave. most G7 countries spend around 5pc of GDP on defense. the japanese currently spend less than 1pc on defense thanks to the US bases and the contribution of the american taxpayer to their defense.

the bases on okinawa protect vital sea lanes that japan depends on as an export economy. china is becoming more and more powerful and with that more belligerent all the time, so now is not a good time to send the americans packing!

of course the okinawans were on okinawa first. however, the area around futenma was rural until the city grew around the base. if it hadnt been for the base there wouldnt even be a city there!

http://theinconvenienttruthonwhaling.blogspot.com/ kujirakira

Japan’s military doesn’t need us. They are a top-10 spender on military worldwide. Their assets and manpower are on par with our NATO allies. They even have the manufacturing capabilities since, as a general rule, they buy the rights and our permission to build equipment rather than purchasing the finished products from us. The only think they lack is experience and training opportunities.
In the past 3 years they’ve built 10 brand-new CG cutters and destroyers. They’re building their 2nd Light Aircraft Carrier right now, and have plans for an even bigger one down the load to handle Ospreys and F35s. They have Apaches, Cobras, F15s, the works — they’re working towards replacing the few outdated F4s with state-of-the-art F22s.
SDF’s alleged weakness, or even non-existence, is a myth that Tokyo is happy to let people propagate.

the bases on okinawa protect vital sea lanes that japan depends on as an export economy

You’re closer to the money on this one, but the 7th Fleet is out of Yokosuka (Kanto) with a Expeditionary Strike Group for MEUs in Sasebo (Kyushu). Neither of those is anywhere near Okinawa. The only Naval facility that I’m aware of in Okinawa, White Beach, is merely an embarkation point for Marines. It is Marines and Air Force that dominate Okinawa.
The Marine Corps has the capability to arrive in Taiwan within 24 hours, while USAF has the range to treat Okinawa as an Unsinkable Aircraft Carrier from Kadena.

What is essentially going on is that US Military provides Regional Stability in a way that frees South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, etc. from potential escalation issues. China isn’t going to play the escalation game with us, so it effectively neutralizes any advances they (or North Korea for that matter) would like to make.
Japan as a whole pays a disproportionate amount of the burden for this service. And Okinawa specifically houses a disproportionate amount of the personnel.
Okinawa has the misfortune of being in a geographically strategic location. That fact is not going to change, regardless of whose military is acting as a holding force. That’s not to say US Forces in Okinawa (and Japan in general) could not be scaled down. They most certainly could. But there is going to be a sizable contingent of military stationed there, in one form or another, for the foreseeable future.
At least until the Taiwan Dilemma is settled once and for all.

haildamage

ok so i was wrong with the 5% figure, but its not really accurate to say japans defense spending is on par with most NATO countries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures

i never said japan had a crap or weak military. indeed, they have a very modern and professional military. however, according to a report on NHK news a couple of years ago it is estimated that japan would have to raise defense spending by 3 to 5 percent to maintain the same level of deterrence if all US forces except for the US navy were to leave japan.

as i said before, japan is getting a bargain for the amount it pays to maintain US forces in japan!

in addition, the self defense forces are have trouble recruiting enough people to fill the ranks. this problem is only going to get worse as the population grays.

therefore, it is quite a stretch to say that japan does not need US forces!

http://theinconvenienttruthonwhaling.blogspot.com/ kujirakira

to maintain the same level of deterrence if all US forces except for the US navy were to leave japan

But that’s the key. You’re comparing to US, who spends more than many of our allies combined. Our military utterly out-classes all of our allies and everyone else in the world. Not just in spending, manpower, or technology — but experience, training, and capability.
Up until a few years ago the Marine Corps was still using Helicopters from Vietnam as a primary means of putting boots on the deck. But when Kosovo went down we shocked not only the enemy, but our own Allies. According to one Marine General, our Allies said we couldn’t execute the plan in 3 days as stated. They insisted it would take 2 weeks. According to him, the Marine Corps executed in 19 hours and NATO was shocked at what a MEU can accomplish on short notice.
The Marine Corps, the poorest and most technologically deficient of the services — operating on the same tech level as SDF until the Bush Administration, has had the ability to set up a fully International Airport in just 12 hours of the gear hitting the deck. I’m talking JFK, Kansai, Narita size services. And they’ve had this capability for 20 years. We can’t even talk about the high-speed low-drag stuff the Air Force can deploy.
So, of course, Japan would have to increase the budget many times to replace what the US military currently has over there.

However, that does not change the fact that our presence in Japan is not defending Japan. Japan does not need US Military to defend them, that’s what they have SDF for. When Amami-Oshima occured, they did not dial 1-800-MARINES for help or the 7th Fleet to get a SEAL team. They handled it themselves and got their own Special Forces in position to take care of it (though they weren’t needed in the end.)

US Military is in Japan as a Region-Wide defense which ensures our sphere of influence, and those who buy into our sphere of influence. In this scheme, Japan pays a steeper price than the other regional participants and Okinawa houses a disproportionate amount of personnel. Only South Korea houses a similar number of foreign military, and in that case we are there for their defense. Though, oddly, they’re a lot more hostile about our presence than Okinawa has ever been.

hoihoi

I think I made them lazy

This is how the Okinawan people have found the war. And for this reason, I ask that you give the Okinawan people special consideration from this day forward.[11].

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoru_%C5%8Cta
http://yebisupost.com yebisu

One thing that is widely misunderstood is that Futenma was built in the 1940s way BEFORE there were any buildings close to it.

People that keep complaining about how terrible America is for having an airbase in the middle of a city need to understand this. The US did not intentionally build the airbase in the city. The real question that needs to be asked is why schools, private residences, etc. were built around the base, literally within meters of the fence.

Maher’s comments were not very smart, but practically everything he said is true.

Unfortunately the topic of Okinawa has become almost a taboo in Japan and any criticism of Okinawa is treated as sacrilege. Anybody who lives in Okinawa knows that Okinawans have a tendency to be lazy, or to put it more politely, easy-going. Even THEY will admit it to you.

As far as the Okinawans using the base issue to extort money from the US and Japanese governments, this is completely true, and anyone who has followed the 15+ year negotiations over Futenma knows this. One point that illustrates this is the fact that Okinawan businessmen pushed hard for the replacement facility for Futenma to be a land reclamation project so that local construction companies could get the contracts, as opposed to the more environmentally friendly methods that were proposed by the US.

U.S. Official: Okinawans are “masters of manipulation and extortion”

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Canada Rejects Refugee Application From Japanese Who Feared Radiation

Ishinomaki: Then & Now

Radioactive Seafood? Miyagi Fishing Industry Works to Prove Safety of Their Fish

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