社説:辺野古掘削調査 知事選まで作業中断を

September 20, 2014(Mainichi Japan)
Editorial: Put new base survey on hold till after Okinawa gubernatorial election
社説:辺野古掘削調査　知事選まで作業中断を

One month has passed since the Defense Ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau began a boring survey on the seabed off the Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, in preparation to build a substitute facility for the U.S. military's Air Station Futenma.
　防衛省沖縄防衛局が、米軍普天間飛行場（沖縄県宜野湾市）の名護市辺野古への移設に向け、海底を掘削して埋め立て地盤の強度や地質を調べるボーリング調査を開始して１カ月たつ。

We are concerned about the way in which the national government is pressing forward with the project as if it is overriding resistance from local residents and creating a fait accompli one after another.
県民の反対を押し切って、既成事実を積み上げようとするかのようなやり方を、私たちは憂慮する。

To avoid further deepening the rift within Okinawa, the central government should suspend the boring survey to see how voters in the southernmost prefecture will react to the project through the Nov. 16 Okinawa gubernatorial election.
沖縄との亀裂をこれ以上、深めないよう、政府は掘削調査を中断し、１１月１６日に投開票される沖縄県知事選の結果を待つべきだ。
   
The national government initially planned to launch a boring survey in 2004 but its attempt was blocked by opponents. As such, the government is guarding the site by designating a larger area off Henoko as an off-limit zone, and has come under fire from opponents of the project and others for being on excessively high alert.
　政府は、２００４年にも掘削調査を実施しようとしながら反対派の阻止行動で中止に追い込まれたことから、今回は立ち入り禁止水域を拡大して警戒を強めており、反対派などから過剰警備との批判が出ている。

The government's tough stance is supported by the fact that Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima granted the government permission to reclaim offshore areas of Henoko.
　政府が強硬方針を貫く支えは、昨年末に仲井真弘多（ひろかず）知事が辺野古埋め立てを承認したことだ。

However, Nakaima deserves criticism that he violated his campaign pledge that he would stick to his demand that Futenma base, situated in a densely populated area of the city of Ginowan, be moved out of the prefecture.
だが、前回知事選で「県外移設」公約を掲げて再選された仲井真知事が、辺野古埋め立てを承認したことは「公約違反」と言われても仕方がない。

Numerous Okinawa residents reacted sharply to Nakaima's about-face. In January this year, Nago voters re-elected Mayor Susumu Inamine, who is opposed to the relocation of Futenma base to Henoko, while pro-mayor candidates won a majority in the municipal assembly in a recent election.
　県民は反発し、１月の名護市長選では移設に反対する稲嶺進市長が再選され、先の名護市議選でも市長派が過半数を維持した。

Furthermore, the prefectural assembly adopted a resolution on Sept. 3 protesting against the national government for going ahead with the boring survey and calling for an immediate halt to the work, with the support of not only four opposition parties but also New Komeito that supports Nakaima.
今月３日には県議会で、野党４会派のほか与党の公明党も賛成して、掘削調査に着手した政府に抗議し、工事の即時中止などを求める意見書が可決された。

Such being the case, whether Nakaima's decision reflects local residents' views on the issue will be a key point of contention in the upcoming gubernatorial race.
　名護市長と多くの県民が辺野古移設に反対する中で、埋め立てを承認した知事の判断は、民意を代表したものだったと言えるのか。１１月の知事選はそれが問われる選挙になる。

However, the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears unwilling to listen to local communities' opinions on the issue.
　しかし、安倍政権はあまり聞く耳を持たないようだ。

Rather, it appears that the stiffer local residents' opposition grows to the project, the further the Abe administration presses forward with the work on the substitute facility for Futenma base in a bid to prevent Nakaima's possible election loss from adversely affecting the project.
それどころか、沖縄で反対の声が高まれば高まるほど、仮に知事選で仲井真氏が敗れても辺野古移設に影響しないようにするため、工事を進めて既成事実化を図ろうとしているように見える。

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a recent news conference, "Primary attention had been focused on whether the Okinawa Prefectural Government would approve the reclamation, but it's already a past concern." However, the remark Suga made as if he dismissed opposition to the project can hardly convince local residents.
　菅義偉官房長官は、先日の記者会見で、辺野古移設について「最大の関心は沖縄県が埋め立てを承認するかどうかだった。この問題はもう過去のものだ」と語った。反対意見を「過去の問題」と切り捨てるような発言は、納得できない。

In an article he contributed to the U.S. news site The Huffington Post last month, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Joseph Nye pointed out that as China's ballistic missile technology advances, U.S. bases in Okinawa Prefecture become increasingly vulnerable. He also pointed to Okinawa residents' anger at the burden of U.S. bases on them, and called for reconsidering the structure of the Japan-U.S. alliance, such as the way U.S. forces should be deployed in the Japanese archipelago.
　米国のジョセフ・ナイ元国防次官補は先月、米ニュースサイト「ハフィントン・ポスト」に寄稿した論文で、沖縄の米軍基地が中国の弾道ミサイル技術の進展で「脆弱（ぜいじゃく）」になっていることや、沖縄の人々の基地負担に対する怒りを指摘して、在日米軍の配備のあり方など日米同盟の構造を再考するよう求めた。

Why does the national government view the planned construction of a substitute facility for the Air Station Futenma off Henoko as the only way to settle the issue of relocating the base while even an expert in diplomacy and security like Nye has made such a proposal?
　外交・安全保障の専門家までがこう提言する中で、政府が辺野古移設を「唯一の解決策」とするのはなぜか。

The government bears responsibility to provide a sufficient explanation to Okinawa residents. As such, the boring survey should be put on hold until after the gubernatorial election.
政府は沖縄の人々に十分な説明をする責任がある。掘削調査は、知事選が終わるまで中断すべきだ。

毎日新聞　2014年09月20日　02時30分