The commander of US Marines offers his opinion on a long replacement runway “selection prior to Futenma Airfield’s reversion”. (28fe26).

Splendor of Okinawa: Lark Daisy, roadside Uruma, 8mr24.


On 27 February, Major General Brian Wolford, Commander of US Marine Pacific Bases, whose command covers the US Military Futenma Airfield in Okinawa Prefecture’s Ginowan City, offered his viewpoint at a meeting  to exchange opinions with news organizations in general at the US Military Camp Zukeran, straddling Chatan and other communities in Okinawa Prefecture.


On whether the use of a civilian facility with a long runway in an emergency  would become a condition for the reversion of Futenma Airfield, the commander expressed his views, noting, “According to the US -Japan Agreement, the Japanese Government would make that choice prior to any reversion. He added, “So far, no such decision has been made”, up to the present. 


On 20 February, at a press conference after a Cabinet Meeting, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi noted, in response to an emergency, “We are already preparing the necessary legal framework for that and can suitably make arrangements for such a situation.” He added, “There’s no disparity in understanding on that point between the US and Japan.”


Futenma Airfield’s runway is 2,700 meters long. However, the runway at Henoko in Nago, the destination of Futenma’s relocation, is only 1,800 meters long. The construction of the planned combined v-shaped runway under a cliff along the coast is now underway. 


On such points, the US Accountability Office has pointed out its diminished capacity as a runway. Thus the US Defense Department has expressed its feeling that “until a suitably long runway” is made available by the Japanese Government, “Futenma Airfield cannot be reverted to Japan”. Moreover, it has just this month determined, “The final choice on the  replacement runway is the responsibility of the Japanese Government.”


In the US-Japan agreement for the reversion of Futenma Airfield, one of the conditions is that,  in the event of an emergency, Japan will be responsible for preparing a long runway, if demanded by the situation, and improving the environment for the use of civilian facilities.

　

Okinawa Prefecture Governor Denny Tamaki requested that the Government maintain its responsibility to explain the total facts, including its understandings with the US side.


Original Japanese article: Asahi Shinbun, published Friday 27 February 2026 at 20:21. Byline: Hiroshi Higa.

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/89c13676ce4dcb9c48e9ae6fca510e8ee6c3fc93


Denny in the News: Denny Tamaki is the governor of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. Although important as an international tourist destination and a key element in strategic US Military Forces, its governor receives very little coverage in the Japanese press and almost none in the English language media. 


This blog hopes to  translate one news article a day on the governor.  It is unsponsored and unauthorized. The translator simply hopes to improve his skills and perhaps give the governor an English speaking audience. 


Any suggestion on improving the translation will be gratefully accepted. However, please leave political comments for another forum.


Where they occur, words and phrases in Ryukyuan (the Okinawan language) are rendered in italics and translated in parentheses. Names  whose readings are uncertain are rendered as Name (=Kanji?) as in Nagayuki (=長行?). Any corrections in such instances would be gratefully appreciated.

 

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