Written on May 12, 2019, this essay examines the criticism of the Osprey in Okinawa, the practical views of remote-island residents, Governor Onaga’s politically charged use of dialect, and the remarks of “All Okinawa” politicians, arguing that Okinawan politics has dangerously turned national security and technological innovation into tools of political struggle.

2019-05-12
Shigeru Yonahara, 54, who lives on Yonaguni Island, Japan’s westernmost island, says, “The Osprey can travel back and forth between Okinawa Main Island and Yonaguni Island without refueling, and it is faster than an ordinary helicopter. There are also many voices on the island hoping for its introduction.”
The following is a continuation of the previous chapter.
A Governor Inciting “Okinawan Nationalism”
When I hear the loudly proclaimed criticism of the Osprey in Okinawa, I am reminded of the witch trials of the Middle Ages.
To deny the Osprey is to deny the progress of science.
This aircraft, which the anti-base camp regards as an enemy, is the essence of technological innovation, combining the strengths of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
In both cruising range and speed, it far surpasses conventional helicopters, and even the Senkaku Islands, more than 400 kilometers away from Okinawa Main Island, fall within its operational range.
Residents of remote islands such as the Yaeyama Islands, when a seriously injured or gravely ill patient appears and the local hospital cannot cope, transport the patient to Okinawa Main Island by Self-Defense Force helicopter.
Life-saving operations are a race against every minute and second.
Shigeru Yonahara, 54, who lives on Yonaguni Island, Japan’s westernmost island, says, “The Osprey can travel back and forth between Okinawa Main Island and Yonaguni Island without refueling, and it is faster than an ordinary helicopter. There are also many voices on the island hoping for its introduction.”
There are also many residents who are not deceived by the reporting.
At least in Yaeyama, there is no fact that opposition to the Osprey, triggered by the accident, has spread among residents like a prairie fire.
In Okinawa, under the pretext that “accidents occurred frequently during the development stage,” the Osprey, which has already been put into practical use, has been treated as a “defective aircraft,” and “withdraw the deployment” has become a political slogan.
Because of the intentions of the anti-base camp, which wants to use the “defective Osprey” as a card to force “the withdrawal of the Marines,” the pure fruits of technological innovation have been turned into tools of political struggle.
On December 22, a return ceremony accompanying the partial return of the U.S. Northern Training Area was held in Nago City.
The anti-base All Okinawa Council held in the same city on that day an “Emergency Protest Rally Demanding the Removal of the Defective Osprey,” and according to the organizers, mobilized about 4,200 people.
Governor Onaga, who had been asked by the government to attend the return ceremony, also attended the protest rally. He once again appealed against the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station to Henoko in Nago City, urging people to rise up with the Okinawan dialect cry, “We will not allow a new base to be built. We will force the withdrawal of the Osprey deployment. Makitēnaibiran (We must not lose).”
It is Governor Onaga’s habitual method to stir up the prefectural residents by mixing dialect into his speeches.
I do not like it, because it appears to set fire to “Okinawan nationalism” and inflame confrontation with the government.
It is sad when dialect is used as a tool to divide Okinawa from the mainland.
Even within Okinawa, the dialects of Okinawa Main Island, the Miyako Islands, and the Yaeyama Islands are completely different. We cannot understand what the governor is saying.
Not a few remote-island residents cast a cold gaze each time the governor uses dialect in a speech, saying, “So in the end, is he only the governor of Okinawa Main Island?”
Be that as it may, the “anti-Osprey” remarks of the All Okinawa Diet members who attended this rally were all unbearable to listen to.
“If it is not a defective aircraft, then Prime Minister Abe, please go ahead and use the Osprey as the prime minister’s special aircraft. Minister Inada, paint the aircraft pink and gladly use the Osprey. But flying the Osprey over Okinawa’s skies will absolutely not be permitted.” (Tamaki Denny, House of Representatives member of the Liberal Party)
“The Osprey is without question an aircraft with a structural defect.” (House of Representatives member Kantoku Teruya of the Social Democratic Party)
“There are as many as 69 Osprey landing zones in Okinawa Prefecture. Most of them are right near residential areas. Let us work together with Governor Onaga and do our best toward the removal of all the landing zones.” (House of Representatives member Seiken Akamine of the Communist Party)
It is pathetic to see politicians in positions of responsibility, without any solid grounds, repeatedly uttering rhetoric as if the Osprey were about to fall from the sky at any moment, stirring up anxiety among the prefectural residents.
This is the present state of Okinawan politics, dominated by “All Okinawa.”
I think the governor’s attendance at the protest rally was the very extreme of populism.
The return of the U.S. Northern Training Area should not originally have been such a trivial matter that the governor could simply turn his back on it and be done.
This essay will continue.