Construction of Military Heliport off HENOKO has been planned under the U.S. Military's long-term build-up program!

Without consulting anything with prefectural residents, SACO (the Special Action Committee on Okinawa) and within a period of only one year reached a final agreement that includes relocation of military bases.
An analysis of U.S. military archival documents proves that this relocation plan is merely one part of U.S. military's more comprehensive, longer-term build-up program.
Under the SACO agreement, some facilities will be returned on condition that relocation sites were found.
These facilities may be divided into three categories.

What is the SACO Agreement?

Urged by the prefectural residents' strong demand for reorganization and reduction of U.S. military bases in Okinawa, SACO was founded in November 1995.
Within half a year from its founding, SACO submitted an interim report that includes the relocation plan of Futenma Air Station, and in December 1996, it submitted a final report.
The agreements concluded in this final report make up SACO Agreement.

In this leaflet, we will make clear the points listed below, by analysing U.S. military archival documents:

In March 1965, U.S. Marine Corps landed in Vietnam and launched a ground war. They need vast ammunitions and military equipments to be transported from Okinawa to Vietnam.
Around that time, they began to study plans to construct a military port off Camp Kinser in Urasoe and an airport off Henoko in Nago.
This process progessed as follows: A secret agreement between the U.S. and Japan to relocate Naha military port to Urasoe seems to have been reached. As the U.S. military abandoned the plan to extend Tengan Pier in Aug. 1971 and agreed to return Naha military port under condition that relocation site be found.
This proves that the construction of Urasoe military port has been planned for about 30 years.
Some may think "joint miliary-civilitan use" of Urasoe port is acceptable if it serves only as a cargoes for daily goods for U.S. military personnel, as Okinawa Governor Mr. Inamine or Urasoe Mayor Mr. Miyagi insist. However, no new port can't possibly be needed because such cargoes are now transported by 3 container ships each week at the civilian Aja New Port.
Nevertheless, the U.S. military persists in insisting construction of the new military port to enable deployment of nuclear aircraft carriers or nuclear submarines.
A document of U.S. Civil Administraion reveals that the U.S. military conducted a feasibility study for construction of a new airport at Kushi Bay (or land reclaimed off Henoko).
According to the Camp Schwab Master Plan in 1987, the U.S. military stated that, as transporting ammunitions from Henoko area to ships on the sea was prohibited by military's own security standard, means to enable air transportation of ammunitions were to be further studied.
It is natural that they demand offshore Camp Schwab as an alternative to Futenma Air Station as a site for a new substitute heliport.

U.S. Military's Real Purpose is Deployment of OSPREY!

Newly developed "state-of-the-art"-Osprey can transport three times as much cargo, fly twice as fast as conventional helicopters and can cover wide areas as far as the Korean Peninsular from Okinawa.
The U.S. Department of Defense approved the mass production of Osprey in December 1994. The U.S. military may have set about its deployment program as early as in 1995.
According to the U.S. military's "Fielding Schedule", air units in Futenma will be reorganized after relocation and 3 Ospreys will be deployed in 2006 and 24 in 2007.
Nevertheless, both Japanese central and Okinawa prefectural governments insist that they were not informed anything regarding Osprey deployment.
The process leading up to SACO is as follows: Judging from these circumstances, there is no doubt that the base rearrangement plan under the SACO Agreement was made in accordance with theOsprey deployment program.
Relocation of Futenma Air Station consists of just one part of this plan.
Osprey can land or take off vertically and needs no longer than 152 meters to take off horizontally.
Marine Corps need training areas for such landing or take-off exercise.
For that purpose, instead of conventional heli-pads with about 85 meters in diameter, about 200 meter runways must be constructed.
Areas across Kunigami Village and Higashi Village provide natural water resources for the whole Okinawa Island, and are a sanctuary for rare species like the "Okinawa Rail".
Seven helipads are planned in this area under the SACO Agreement.
At four possible sites, two helipads are to be constructed next to each other. If connected, these two helipads stretch about 200 meters long.
Constructing "Osprey-pads" under the guise of two neighboring helipads must be their real aim!
To avert attention from these "Osprey-pads", some training areas now not used are to be returned.
One of such "Osprey-pads" is planned to be located in the middle reaches of Uka River. Areas around the mouth of this river are to be included in the new training areas under SACO Agreement. These are the only places open to the sea among these mountainous areas. They must be ideal for real combat training using Ospreys.
The Ginbaru Training Area in Kin Town is to be returned because this area is hilly and not fit for "Osprey-pads". Instead, "Osprey-pads" may be constructed at Blue Beach, also in Kin Town, which is connected to Camp Hansen via tank roads.
Construction of a new heliport off Henoko will ensure a powerful island-wide training range for the U.S. military.
Areas endangered by this plan are not limited to Nago!
This is a Island-wide, Prefecture-wide problem!
A huge military base is to be constructed under the name of "joint military and civilian" facilities!

As we have proved above, the SACO Agreement is nothing less than a modernization and reinforcement of functions of U.S. military bases in Okinawa, disguised as a "rearrangement" or "reduction" plan of the bases, what the Okinawan people had sincerely hoped for.

Council for Opposing Offshore Base Construction

3-9-1 Ohnaka Nago, OKINAWA, JAPAN 905-0017

Your kind donation is welcome by money order directly to address above.

nagocnet@hotmail.com