Okinawa Policy Council meeting held for first time in 13 years

The central government on Friday held a meeting of the Okinawa Policy Council, a forum with the prefecture to discuss issues including U.S. military bases and economic development measures, for the first time in 13 years.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Cabinet ministers and Okinawa Gov. Genta Koja attended the meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo.

“We’ll make every effort to realize a visible reduction in the base-hosting burden,” Takaichi told the attendees, expressing her intention to work with Okinawa Prefecture to address issues including regional development measures.

“It’s important to promote (Okinawa’s economic development) comprehensively and strategically as a national strategy,” Takaichi said.

Referring to the recent series of incidents and accidents involving U.S. military members in Okinawa Prefecture, Takaichi said that the central government will firmly work to prevent any further occurrences.

Koja said he hopes to discuss measures necessary to expand Okinawa Prefecture’s development programs and reduce the burden of hosting U.S. bases, calling for sufficient state funding to build a strong Okinawan economy.

He also urged the central government to drastically review the Japan-U.S. status of forces agreement, which stipulates rules on the U.S. military’s use of facilities and areas in Japan, and its legal status in the country, and present a clear timeline for the return of the site of the U.S. military’s Futenma air station in the Okinawan city of Ginowan.

The meeting was arranged in response to a request Koja made after winning the prefecture’s gubernatorial election in September.

A focal point of the meeting is the state outlay for economic development measures for Okinawa Prefecture. In its budget request for fiscal 2027, the Cabinet Office sought ¥289.7 billion for such measures, standing below the ¥300 billion requested by the prefecture for the sixth consecutive year.