Areas hosting U.S. forces show mixed reaction to Obama victory

NAHA, Japan, Nov. 5 Kyodo - Activists and authorities in regional areas of Japan that host U.S. military facilities showed a mixed reaction Wednesday to Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election, with some expressing hope for improvement and
others seeing little possibility of change.

In Okinawa, expressions of high expectations regarding the upcoming change of
government in the United States were mixed with an air of resignation as some
felt Obama would have his hands full with other issues so reducing the
southwestern prefecture's burden in hosting U.S. military facilities would not
be high on his agenda.
Hiroshi Ashitomi, a representative of a group opposing helicopter bases, said
he will be paying attention to whether the U.S. military realignment plan
devised by a Republican administration would change under Obama, a Democrat.
''The first black president may be more receptive to the voices of minorities
with the same mind-set,'' Ashitomi said.
But Seiei Gakiya, who heads a local shopping area association in Okinawa City
near the U.S. Kadena Air Base, said it is unlikely that Obama will be able to
withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq immediately and will probably concentrate on the
domestic economy.
''Economic conditions here will not improve,'' Gakiya said, referring to low
customer traffic in shopping districts near U.S. military facilities that has
been linked to problems such as crimes by U.S. personnel.
Masaharu Shimanaka of a 500-member labor union made up of Japanese employees at
military facilities in Okinawa expressed concern that Obama could reduce bases
and thus cut employment.
Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima said he hopes Obama will ''resolve base-related
issues such as the consolidation and reduction of U.S. military bases in
Okinawa.''
A senior official of the Okinawa prefectural government in charge of U.S.
military base affairs said the future of the U.S. military presence in the
prefecture, which hosts the bulk of such facilities in Japan, will depend on
how the Japanese government views defense of the nation.
U.S. Consul General in Okinawa Kevin Maher, however, emphasized that
Washington's security policy toward Tokyo will not change under Obama as U.S.
diplomatic policy toward Japan is bipartisan.
Meanwhile, in Yokohama, Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa expressed hope that
the Obama administration may be more willing to listen to voices calling for a
revision of the Status of Forces Agreement, which stipulates the operations and
legal status of U.S. forces in Japan.
''Mr. Obama may be more flexible in terms of issues such as the revision of the
Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement. There is an increased possibility that
he might lend an ear,'' Matsuzawa told a regular press conference.
Masahiko Goto, a lawyer who represents civic groups opposed to the deployment
of the nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington at the U.S.
Navy's Yokosuka base in September, said the election of Obama, who has called
for change, may provide an opportunity to change Japan's policy toward the
United States.
''There is also a demand for the Japanese government to change,'' Goto said.
''This is a good chance for Japan to modify its policy of subservience to the
United States, such as with the U.S. military realignment in Japan and the
deployment of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and to seek to put things
on an equal footing.''
In Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Shinji Kashiwabara, honorary chief of the
Iwakuni chamber of commerce, which has accepted the planned relocation of U.S.
carrier-borne fighter jets to the western Japanese city from Atsugi base,
located in a densely populated area outside of Tokyo, said the realignment plan
will not change as local people have been preparing for the move.
In Hiroshima, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba issued a statement saying he hopes Obama's
victory will lead the United States to change its nuclear policy as the
president-elect has said he will aim to eliminate nuclear weapons.