Kyodo News reported, citing sources familiar with budget discussions, that Japan may raise Okinawa’s fiscal 2027 development allocation above 300 billion yen as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to reduce the prefecture’s U.S. base burden.
Kyodo put the possible sum at about S$2.4 billion, above Okinawa’s initial request of 289.7 billion yen. The prefecture’s annual development budget has been around 260 billion yen since fiscal 2022, following earlier allocations in the 300 billion yen range. Kyodo said disagreements between Tokyo and Okinawa over relocating U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma were seen as a factor in funding cuts during former Gov. Denny Tamaki’s tenure.
Gov. Genta Koja, who supports moving Futenma to Henoko in Nago under a 1996 Japan-U.S. agreement, asked when land used by the base would be returned. He later told reporters that Tokyo had not provided a date, Kyodo reported. Foundation work is underway at the planned coastal site while calls continue for the base to be moved outside Okinawa.
Koja won the September gubernatorial election with backing from Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party, defeating Tamaki. His campaign emphasized local economic concerns, and he pledged to seek additional development support from Tokyo, Kyodo reported.
At Friday, Nov. 6, meeting of the Okinawa Policy Council, Takaichi instructed Cabinet ministers to consider support for the prefecture as they prepare the fiscal 2027 budget. It was the council’s first policy meeting in 13 years. Takaichi said her government would work toward measurable progress in easing the impact of U.S. bases on Okinawa, Kyodo reported.
Kyodo also reported that Takaichi’s government aims to deepen cooperation with Okinawa and strengthen defense capabilities in the Nansei Islands amid China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific.
The meeting addressed local anger following the alleged murder and robbery of a woman in Okinawa. U.S. serviceman Devin Ballard was indicted in October in connection with the case. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told the meeting Japan and the United States had agreed to enhance education for U.S. military personnel, Kyodo reported. EconoTimes previously covered the indictment of U.S. Marine Devin Ballard.
The allocation will be considered as Cabinet ministers compile the fiscal 2027 budget.
