On the 12th, it marked 30 years since the United States and Japan agreed to return the site of the Futenma U.S. airfield in Ginowan, Okinawa, but actual return is expected no earlier than 2036, Kyodo News reported that day. The wire said opposition remains deeply rooted because the U.S. airfield places a heavy burden on residents of Okinawa Prefecture.

Initially, the Japanese government assumed a return timeframe of about 5 to 7 years, but the target date kept being pushed back. The plan to relocate the Futenma airfield to Henoko in Nago, also within Okinawa Prefecture, met fierce local opposition, leading to prolonged court battles between the central government and Okinawa Prefecture. Construction difficulties stemming from the soft ground in the coastal Henoko area also played a role, the wire reported. The Tokyo Shimbun reported that ground improvement work is expected to be completed in the 2030s.

The Futenma U.S. airfield is surrounded by urban districts and lies close to residential neighborhoods and schools, and in Japan it is called ‘the most dangerous base in the world’. Following a 1995 case in which three U.S. servicemen kidnapped and raped an elementary school student, public calls in Okinawa for the return gained momentum, and the two countries agreed in April 1996 to return the base. In 1999, the Nago side accepted relocation of the airfield to Henoko on the condition of a 15-year limit on use, but local residents opposed the plan, resulting in repeated delays to the return schedule.

In April 2013, the two countries announced a consolidated plan that specified the timing of return as 2022 or later. At the time, Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima approved land reclamation off Henoko for construction of the airfield, but his successor, Takeshi Onaga, revoked the approval and took the Japanese government to court.

More recently, according to the Tokyo Shimbun, the U.S. side has indicated an intention to continue using Futenma and not return it even after the Henoko base is completed. The runway at Futenma is 2,740 meters long, whereas Henoko will have two 1,800-meter runways; the U.S. Ministry of National Defense (Ministry of National Defense) has said it will not return the Futenma site unless suitable runways are in place.

Governor Denny Tamaki of Okinawa Prefecture said in an interview with the Tokyo Shimbun, “Concentrating (U.S.) bases in Okinawa simply because it is geopolitically suitable is nothing but an excuse.” On the U.S. intention to keep using Futenma, which the Japanese government currently denies, he stressed, “I want the intentions of the U.S. side to be clearly confirmed and politely explained to Okinawa.”

Government spokesperson Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference on the 10th, “We take seriously the fact that, as the 30-year mark passes since the bilateral agreement, the return has still not been realized,” adding, “There is a shared understanding between the government and local residents that the risk posed by Futenma, said to be the most dangerous in the world, should be eliminated as quickly as possible.” He added, “We will steadily proceed with the work based on the policy that relocation to Henoko is the only solution.”