VOA标准英语2009-Japan to Tell Obama It Wants Okinawa Marine

By Akiko Fujita
Tokyo
11 November 2009 

 
US Marine¹ Corps² helicopters, transport planes sit on tarmac of Futenma Marine Corps Air Station next to Okinawa residential³ quarters (file photo)
The relocation of a U.S. Marine base on Okinawa is expected to be on the top of the agenda when President Barack Obama visits Tokyo this week. The United States and Japan agreed three years ago to move the base to another part of the island in five years. But the new Japanese administration wants that plan put on hold.

Marine Corps Air Station Futenma sits in a crowded area of the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. Homes and businesses surround the base, which the Marines mostly use for helicopters.

The base is home to 2,000 marines and has long been a sore point for Okinawans. Residents who live nearby complain of aircraft noise. Occasional accidents have raised concerns about their safety. In a crowded community, the base is seen as land for new homes and businesses.

Plan to move

In 2006, Japan and the United States agreed to close Futenma and move its facilities to another Marine base with a heliport built on reclaimed⁴ land offshore⁵. That agreement also called for 8,000 marines to be moved off Okinawa, to the U.S. territory of Guam.

The plan came after 15 years of negotiations⁶ but Japan's new government now wants to reconsider it.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his Democratic Party of Japan won a historic election in August, in part by calling for a review of that 2006 agreement. Four DPJ members from Okinawa won parliamentary seats with promises of reducing the U.S. troop presence on the island.

Denny Tamaki is one of Okinawa's parliament ministers.

He says they won because voters believed they could achieve what the previous administration could not. That includes resolving the issue of U.S. military bases in Okinawa.

Tamaki wants Futenma's marines and training facilities off the island altogether. And polls show his constituents⁷ overwhelmingly support that view.

Move or close?
 
In a recent poll by one of Japan's national newspapers, nearly 70 percent of Okinawans said they opposed moving Futenma to another part of the island. The same percentage think Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama should negotiate with the U.S. to move Futenma out of the prefecture or the country altogether.

 
US Defense⁸ Secretary Robert Gates
Washington, however, has dismissed that idea. In his visit to Tokyo last month, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said there was no room for renegotiating the deal.

"Without the Futenma realignment, the Futenma facility, there will be no relocation to Guam," Gates said. "Without relocation to Guam there will be no consolidation⁹ of forces and return of land in Okinawa."

Okinawa is Japan's smallest prefecture in terms of land, but it is home to about half the approximately 47,000 U.S. military personnel on bases and ships in the country. They are spread over more than 10 large facilities and many smaller ones on Okinawa.

Crimes fuel tension

Tensions over the U.S. military presence in Okinawa have been building for decades. They rose sharply after three U.S. servicemen were convicted of raping¹⁰ a schoolgirl. In 2004, a U.S. helicopter crashed on a local university. Nobody was seriously injured but the accident raised more concerns about the safety of residents.

Okinawans say moving Futenma would threaten wildlife in the rural northern part of the island. They also say proceeding¹¹ with the 2006 agreement would break the DPJ's campaign promise.

No firm stand

Tamaki says Mr. Hatoyama needs to come out and say no more bases will be built on Okinawa. He says the prime minister should declare Japan will not go by the 2006 agreement and will start negotiations from scratch.

So far, Mr. Hatoyama has not taken a firm stand on the issue. He has only said that Japan will not be pressured into a decision. He wants to review the plan and come up with a conclusion Okinawans can agree on.

The delay could complicate¹² a traditionally warm relationship between the U.S. and Japan. Masaaki Gabe is an international relations professor at the University of the Ryuku Islands on Okinawa. He says Japan has had a history of saying "yes" to U.S. demands. Mr. Hatoyama is trying to change that and alter the nature of the U.S.-Japan alliance.

New Japanese face?

Gabe says Japan has been an ideal partner to the U.S. for so long. But this debate over Futenma has exposed a side of Japan the U.S. has never seen before.

DPJ members such as Tamaki say the discussions are a healthy debate that will strengthen the alliance. And Washington considers Japan an important part of its efforts to maintain stability in Asia. The two countries have created a cabinet-level group in hopes of resolving the dispute soon, but Gabe expects the debate to drag out for months, while Japanese leaders try to find common ground.

Mr. Obama and Mr. Hatoyama plan to hold a press conference together when he arrives Friday. But both sides have already said the Futenma relocation will not be the focus and say the issue will not be resolved in a two-day visit.

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

3 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

4 reclaimed   

adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

10 raping   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的现在分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• In response, Charles VI sent a punitive expedition to Brittany, raping and killing the populace. 作为报复，查理六世派军讨伐布列塔尼，奸淫杀戮平民。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The conquerors marched on, burning, killing, raping and plundering as they went. 征服者所到之处烧杀奸掠，无所不做。 来自互联网

11 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

12 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。