The ongoing dispute over the relocation of U.S. Marines on Okinawa should be quickly settled. This isn't just an issue for the U.S. and Japan. It has regional implications.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Japan's alliance with the U.S. will only grow in importance amid the increasingly difficult security situation surrounding our country, thus I think it is necessary to keep the marines in Okinawa, a geographically strategic location from the standpoint of maintaining deterrence.
The desire to see Okinawa returned to Japan developed into a broad national consensus among our people.
Should hostilities once break out between Japan and the United States, it is not enough that we take Guam and the Philippines, nor even Hawaii and San Francisco. We would have to march into Washington and sign the treaty in the White House.
My father was in the military, so I was in Okinawa.
The most important thing that certainly the United States and other Asian and Pacific actors have done is to urge that whatever happens, however the dispute is resolved, that it be resolved peacefully.
Alabama farmers want a chance to complete fairly in Japan, but they can't if the Japanese won't let us in.
Haven't we put off problems without clarifying Japan's will to protect the lives and assets of its people and territory with its own hands, and merely accepted the benefits of economic prosperity?
I think it is not necessary at this time to put forth a grand vision such as an East Asian Community. What we must do before that is create scenarios for Japan's response in case of a serious territorial incident.
The U.S. must renounce any U.S. interest in constructing permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq.
I will aim to restore the Japan-U.S. alliance and Japan's strong diplomatic capabilities. Japan can't pursue a strong foreign policy without strengthening its alliance with the United States.
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