（社説）復帰の日 沖縄を孤立させぬ覚悟

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 16
EDITORIAL: 43 years on, Okinawa still forced to serve mainland's interest
（社説）復帰の日　沖縄を孤立させぬ覚悟

May 15 marked the anniversary of Okinawa’s return to Japan 43 years ago. Never has the anniversary arrived amid such acute tension between Okinawa Prefecture and the central government.
　沖縄が日本に復帰して、きのうで４３年。今年ほど沖縄と政府の関係が緊張するなかで迎えた「復帰の日」はないだろう。

Flying in the face of strong opposition from many people in Okinawa, the Abe administration is forging ahead with preparations for the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from the crowded city of Ginowan to the Henoko area of Nago, another city in the island prefecture.
　米軍普天間飛行場（宜野湾市）の名護市辺野古への移設準備を、多くの県民の反対を顧みず、政府が推し進めている。

The government and Japan’s mainlanders should heed the voices of Okinawa, which has been pivotal to the support of national security since the end of World War II in 1945 by bearing the heavy burden of hosting the vast bulk of U.S. military bases in this country. The Japanese people should not allow Okinawa to become isolated.
　戦後７０年間、基地負担にあえぎながらも日本の安全保障を支えてきた沖縄の訴えに耳を傾けるべきで、国民は沖縄を孤立させてはならない。

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, met separately with Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga in April and May for the first time since Onaga came to office in December. The three top government officials refused to hold talks with Onaga until then.
　昨年１２月に翁長雄志氏が知事に就任して以来、会うことを拒んできた菅義偉官房長官、安倍晋三首相、中谷元防衛相の政府首脳３人との会談が、ようやく４月、５月に実現した。

Onaga’s remarks about Okinawa’s postwar history made in those meetings underscored Okinawa’s determination to reject the Futenma relocation plan.
その機会に翁長氏が発した言葉が、沖縄の強い意思を明確に示した。

Onaga talked about how the U.S. military, when it governed Okinawa before its reversion to Japan, seized local people’s land forcibly to build bases by using “bayonets and bulldozers.”
　復帰前の米軍統治下、基地建設のために「銃剣とブルドーザー」で土地を強制収用されたこと。

The Okinawa governor also spoke about Paul Caraway, the high commissioner of the U.S. Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands during the early 1960s, who once declared that Okinawan self-government is nothing but a legend.
自治権拡大を「神話」と言い放ったキャラウェイ高等弁務官のこと。

Onaga also referred to the 1956 U.S. attempt for an effective blanket purchase of the local land leased for bases, made in line with what is known as the “Price Recommendations” by Rep. Melvin Price, who chaired a special subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee.
軍用地の一括買い上げを狙ったプライス勧告のこと。

Onaga’s words awakened bitter memories about these historical facts that still linger in the minds of the people in Okinawa and highlighted parallels between these incidents and the Abe administration’s approach to the Futenma issue.
翁長氏は県民にわだかまる記憶を次々とすくい上げ、現政権と二重写しにしてみせた。

Onaga’s remarks expressed anger about how the central government has continued to ignore Okinawa’s determined opposition to the base relocation plan, which was made clear in three elections last year--the Nago mayoral election, the gubernatorial poll and the Lower House election. They also indicated that Okinawa’s actions against the administration’s efforts to carry out the plan are similar in nature to Okinawa’s fight for the right of self-government under U.S. military rule.
　翁長氏の発言は、昨年の名護市長選、県知事選、総選挙と繰り返し示された辺野古移設反対の民意が無視され続けていることへの怒り、そして今の沖縄の政府に向けた行動が米軍政下の自治権獲得闘争と同質であるとの見解の表明である。

In his meeting with Nakatani, Onaga recounted an episode about his discussions on the issue with an Upper House member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party two years ago when he was the mayor of Naha. Onaga severely criticized the mainland’s mind-set by telling Nakatani that the LDP politician said Okinawa should accept the new base because the mainland refused to accept it. The LDP lawmaker also said to Onaga, “Let us stop futile discussions.”
　中谷防衛相との会談では、翁長氏が那覇市長時代の２年前、自民党の参院議員から「本土が（基地受け入れを）嫌だと言っているのだから、沖縄が受けるのは当たり前だ。不毛な議論はやめよう」という言葉を投げかけられた経験を明かし、本土側の意識を痛烈に批判した。

It is notable that the series of meetings between Onaga and the top administration officials have aroused sympathy for Okinawa among the Japanese public.
　一連の会談をきっかけに、国内世論が次第に沖縄に共感を示し始めたことは注目される。

In a clutch of opinion polls recently conducted by The Asahi Shimbun and other media, more respondents than before expressed critical views about the administration’s stance toward the issue.
朝日新聞など多くの報道機関の世論調査でも、政府の姿勢を評価しないとする声が増えた。

The mainland public’s interest in the problem appears to be growing, as indicated by internationally acclaimed animation director Hayao Miyazaki’s decision to co-head a fund set up by prefectural assembly members and local businesses to protest the plan to move the air base to Henoko.
　移設阻止を訴えるために県議や地元経済界が設立した「辺野古基金」の共同代表に映画監督の宮崎駿氏らが就くなど、問題への関心が高まっている。

Onaga plans to make his case to a broad international audience, including the U.S. government.
　翁長知事は今後、米政府をはじめ国際世論にも広く働きかける戦略を描く。

Okinawa’s wish to be treated equally as the mainland has been consistently denied, even after its return to Japan.
　復帰後も、「本土並み」という願いは踏みにじられてきた。

Chobyo Yara, the last chief executive of the government of the Ryukyu Islands under U.S. administration and the first governor of the prefecture after the return of Okinawa, once said. “Okinawa must not be victimized again as a means of the state.”
　「沖縄が再び国の手段として犠牲になってはならない」。琉球政府主席で復帰直後の沖縄県知事、屋良朝苗（やらちょうびょう）氏はこう訴えたという。

One serious question Japanese mainlanders should ask themselves now is whether they are again trying to victimize Okinawa for the mainland’s interests.
今またわれわれは沖縄を犠牲にしようとしていないか。本土の国民は改めてこの問いを受け止める必要がある。