TRAVEL

Ro Manabe, the Defense Ministry's Okinawa bureau chief, strongly denied Friday that he intended to break the law by urging ministry officials and their relatives to vote in the Ginowan mayoral election, or that he advised them to vote for a specific candidate, but also admitted his actions could be judged unlawful. Manabe, summoned for unsworn testimony in the Diet, has been blasted by the opposition for allegedly trying to influence the Feb. 12 mayoral race. The opposition camp is charging that Manabe suggested during two internal lectures last week that participants vote for the candidate who is relatively more in line with the government's contentious plan to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from Ginowan to Nago, also in Okinawa. (Japan Times)

The Defense Ministry came under fresh fire Tuesday for allegedly trying to meddle with the upcoming mayoral election in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, the host city for the Futenma U.S. air base. Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka told reporters his ministry has sent personnel to the prefecture to investigate the matter, which came to light after an opposition lawmaker raised the matter in the Diet. Seiken Akamine of the Japanese Communist Party, citing email he says he has obtained, told the Lower House Budget Committee that the bureau instructed its various divisions by email to find out which of its personnel's Ginowan-based relatives are eligible to vote and created a list of them in January. (Japan Times)

A U.S. airman in Japan pleaded guilty Monday to plotting with the wife of a service member to kill her husband and then slitting the man's throat. U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Nicholas Cron, 26, of the 733rd Air Mobility Squadron at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit murder, premeditated murder and obstruction of justice in the 2011 death of Tech. Sgt. Curtis Eccleston, 30, Stars and Stripes reported. The plea came during the opening day of Cron's court-martial in the fatal stabbing, which occurred in an off-base apartment. (UPI)

A Japan-China friendship group in Okinawa Prefecture has agreed to cooperate on procuring rare earth metals with a local goodwill group in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, sources familiar with the matter said Sunday. The region is a major production base for rare earth minerals, which are crucial to making high-tech gadgets and appliances. The two groups signed a mutual exchange agreement on Jan. 19 in Huhhot, the capital of the special region, that confirms they will cooperate on business involving rare earth metals, the sources said. (Japan Times)

A civilian employee of the U.S. Air Force in Okinawa indicted over a fatal vehicle collision last January pleaded guilty Monday at the opening of his trial, which is a first under a new bilateral arrangement on the handling of personnel at U.S. bases. The Naha District Public Prosecutor's Office indicted Rufus James Ramsey III in November after the United States and Japan agreed to change the operational implementation of the Status of Forces Agreement, which governs the handling of U.S. service personnel in Japan, to conditionally grant Japan jurisdiction over crimes involving nonmilitary personnel at U.S. bases. (Japan Times)

Bird strikes are a chronic problem for pilots, but an incident Wednesday over the East China Sea involving a Japan Coast Guard patrol plane was particularly serious. After hitting an albatross at around 5:10 p.m. at an altitude of 300 meters, the Bombardier DHC8-315 sustained a big hole in its nose, and the dead bird was stuck in it, coast guard officials said. The hole was reportedly as wide as 1 meter. But the patrol plane flew on and landed at its intended destination of Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, a little after 6 p.m. after leaving Naha at 2:50 p.m., the officials said. (Japan Times)

New Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka drew flak from the opposition camp Monday for making statements over the weekend that seemed to indicate Tokyo was intent on beginning the contentious relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa by the end of the year. On the same NHK news program Sunday, Tanaka also seemed to confuse the principle behind the Self-Defense Forces' use of weapons abroad with Japan's arms export ban, exposing his lack of knowledge on defense issues and causing him to be labeled an "amateur" by Nobuteru Ishihara, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party. (Japan Times)

The Bank of Japan cut its economic assessment of seven of the country's nine regions as a global slowdown and the yen's gain threaten the nation's recovery from the March earthquake. Conditions in Hokkaido, Hokuriku, Kanto, Tokai, Kinki, Chugoku and the Kyushu-Okinawa area have deteriorated from October, the central bank said today in its quarterly Sakura Report on regional economies. It left its evaluation of Shikoku and the eartahquake-stricken region of Tohoku unchanged, citing reconstruction demand in the disaster area. (Bloomberg)

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda replaced five Cabinet members Friday in a bid to win more cooperation from the opposition and voters to raise the sales tax and rein in the bulging fiscal deficit. The new Cabinet is meant to create "the best and strongest lineup to steadily tackle the issues that we must achieve without running away or putting off," Noda told a news conference. "I chose people who can move ahead and make a breakthrough." Two of the removed ministers had been censured by the opposition, including former Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa, who claimed he was unaware of the details of a 1995 rape of a schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen on the island of Okinawa - a crime that continues to deeply impact local support for the large American troop presence there. (AP)

Known for its high-end boutiques and brand-name stores, Tokyo's Ginza district is also home to more than a dozen shops promoting delicacies and cultural products unique to various prefectures. In a half-day spent exploring these "furusato" (hometown) antenna shops, one can experience a wide variety of regional treats that come from as far afield as Hokkaido and Okinawa. The growing popularity of these stores isn't confined to people who hail from those places and miss the taste of home. Akiko Mori, 75, is a Tokyo native but often shops at Iwate Ginga Plaza, Iwate Prefecture's specialty shop located midway between central Ginza and the Tsukiji fish market. (Japan Times)

U.S. President Barack Obama signed a defense bill for fiscal 2012 on Saturday that includes cutting the entire $150 million funding for transferring Marines to Guam from Japan's Okinawa. The axing of the funding casts doubt over the prospects for a controversial bilateral commitment to relocate a major U.S. Marine base in Okinawa, of which the transfer of Marines is a key component. Obama signed the bill for the National Defense Authorization Act in Honolulu, where he is staying for his Christmas and New Year holiday. (Japan Times)

The United States on Wednesday welcomed the delivery of Japan's environmental impact report to the Okinawa Prefectural Government on the relocation of the Futenma base, calling the move "significant progress" on their military realignment plan. Pentagon press secretary George Little said in a statement that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta welcomed the news and "looks forward to working with Japan in taking the next step: securing the landfill permit." His remarks came as Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima repeated that he will not give the green light to the land reclamation work needed to build the replacement facility for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. (Japan Times)

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda apologized Saturday to Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima for a highly offensive remark a Defense Ministry official made about a plan to relocate a U.S. air base. "I deeply apologize that the feelings of people in the prefecture were greatly hurt," Noda said during a meeting of a government panel on Okinawa-related policies, the first time he has apologized to Nakaima in person. Okinawa Defense Bureau chief Satoshi Tanaka was fired after telling reporters last month, "Before you rape someone, do you tell her you're going to rape her?" (Japan Times)

The political games being played in Washington and Tokyo regarding whether the U.S. will fund the transfer of Okinawa-based U.S. Marines to Guam are of no consequence, experts say, because the 2006 plan to relocate the Futenma airbase to Henoko in northern Okinawa Island, which the Guam transfer depends upon, is all but dead. The U.S. Congress decided earlier this week to cut $150 million from the fiscal 2012 budget that was earmarked for the planned transfer of 8,000 marines and roughly an equal number of their dependents to Guam by 2014, following the construction of a replacement base for Futenma at Henoko. But Congress' decision is yet another nail in the coffin of the Futenma plan, experts say. (Japan Times)

The government plans to slash its fiscal 2012 spending on the planned relocation of about 8,000 U.S. marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam by about 80 percent from the 2011 budget, government sources said Wednesday. This comes after recent U.S. congressional moves to freeze funding for the relocation in its fiscal 2012 spending. Japan's government will set aside less than 10 billion yen, a sharp drop compared to the 52 billion yen outlay in the initial budget for fiscal 2011, the sources said. (Yomiuri)

With Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa remaining in his post despite the passage of a censure motion against him, further turmoil over the relocation of the U. S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture is inevitable. The House of Councillors on Friday passed a censure motion against Ichikawa over a series of gaffes, including an injudicious statement related to the 1995 rape of a schoolgirl in Okinawa Prefecture. As a result, the Okinawa prefectural government has said it would be difficult to establish a relationship of trust with Ichikawa. According to observers, it has become harder for the central government to obtain the understanding of the Okinawa prefectural government about the transfer of the Futenma base to the Henoko district of Nago in the prefecture as long as Ichikawa remains in the post. (Yomiuri)

The first thing a good beach does is immediately make you want to take your watch off. But what makes a really great beach is when you do that - and then kick off your shoes as well. That's exactly what I did when I arrived at Eef Beach on Kume Island, Okinawa. The university near Naha on Okinawa Island where I teach on Tuesdays and Fridays canceled classes on Tuesday, Oct. 24 for a students' "Career Day" - meaning that, as my weekends are usually free, I was looking (with delight) at a windfall four-day break. Pacing my pleasure, though, I spent the Saturday taking care of this and that, and the Sunday sleeping in, resting up and checking out where to go, and how. I opted to take the ferry named Naha from Naha's Tomari Port to Kume Island, about 95 km to the west in the East China Sea. (Japan Times)

Police in Japan are searching for an American woman who has been missing for six weeks, they said Wednesday. Kelli Abad, 27, was last seen October 26, leaving Kadena Air Base, a major U.S. Air Force facility in Japan, local police told CNN. Her car, a Toyota SUV, was found three days later at Cape Zanpa on the island of Okinawa about 10 miles from the base, with her cell phone and purse inside, the Kadena police department said. Police, the fire department and coast guard have searched caves and cliffs in the area but have found no trace of her, police said. Her husband is stationed at the air base, police in Okinawa said. (CNN)

Authorities in Japan are searching for a Georgia mother of two who disappeared from a U.S. Air Force base more than a month ago. Facebook Kelli Cribbs Abad and her children. Abad has been missing in Japan since Oct. 26, 2011. Special Kelli Cribbs Abad, who is from the southeast Georgia town of Brooklet, has been living in Okinawa with her husband for three years. Shown here is a poster reporting her disappearance. Kelli Cribbs Abad, who is from the southeast Georgia town of Brooklet, was last seen Oct. 26 leaving a gate at Kadena Air Base near Okinawa, where the 27-year-old woman's husband is based. Abad's Toyota sport utility vehicle was found three days later in a coastal area about 10 miles from the base. Channel 2 Action News reported that Japanese and U.S. military authorities searched caves and cliffs near where Abad's SUV was discovered, but found no traces of the woman. Her passport was found at her home, and her cell phone and purse were not taken. (ajc.com)

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Monday he won't fire Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa despite growing pressure from both the opposition and the ruling coalition to take responsibility for embarrassing comments by a deputy and his own gaffes. "I am terribly sorry that the feelings of the Okinawans have been hurt, but I would like Minister Ichikawa to straighten up and perform his duties," Noda said during a session of the Lower House Budget Committee. The Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito are set to submit a censure motion in the opposition-controlled Upper House on Friday if Ichikawa doesn't step down or Noda doesn't sack him. (Japan Times)

Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa is facing mounting calls for his resignation from members of the Democratic Party of Japan for a recent series of gaffes related to the 1995 rape of a girl in Okinawa Prefecture. Ichikawa's repeated blunders, including his statement in the Diet, "I have no detailed or accurate knowledge" of the rape, have led many DPJ members to question his qualifications as defense minister. Opposition parties plan to file a censure motion in the House of Representatives on Friday. Seiji Maehara, chairman of the DPJ's Policy Research Committee, on Saturday criticized Ichikawa by saying, "He has much more to learn." Maehara's remark reflected the feelings of many DPJ members, political observers said. (Yomiuri)

The relocation of U.S. forces was already a thorny issue in Japanese politics. But insensitive remarks by a government official have made things far worse. It's difficult to write about the events of this week in Japan. There are moments that are simply inexplicable, and this is such a moment. Offensive statements by Japanese government officials have exacerbated the tense relations between the national government and the Okinawa governor. For more than fifteen years now, the effort to reduce the footprint of U.S. forces in Okinawa, and to build a better understanding between local communities and U.S. forces there has been at the top of the U.S.-Japan alliance agenda. (The Diplomat)

Democratic Party of Japan policy chief Seiji Maehara prodded Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa to resign on TV Saturday as opposition cries rose over an ill-chosen comment he made while discussing a gaffe, with sexual assault innuendo, committed by his Okinawa affairs chief earlier in the week. Ichikawa told a Thursday Diet session he did "not know in detail" about the horrendous rape of a 12-year-old girl in Okinawa committed by three U.S. servicemen in 1995, an incident not related to the recent gaffe. (Japan Times)

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda apologized in front of the media Thursday over an "extremely inappropriate" remark a Defense Ministry official made in relation to the Futenma base relocation in Okinawa. Okinawa Defense Bureau chief Satoshi Tanaka was fired Tuesday after allegedly saying in a bar in the presence of reporters, "Before you rape someone, do you tell her you're going to rape her?" Tanaka made the remark in response to questions over the timing of the environmental impact assessment the government plans to submit to Okinawa by year's end, a vital step in the contentious relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. (Japan Times)

A senior Japanese defence official was fired Tuesday for his "rape" remarks in explaining the government's controversial plan to relocate a key US base in Okinawa. Defence Minister Yasuo Ichikawa said he had fired Satoshi Tanaka, chief of his ministry's branch in Okinawa, for the comment which has angered people in the subtropical island chain, burdened with a heavy US military presence. "I have concluded that there is no room for excuses," the minister told a news conference. According to Japanese media, Tanaka told reporters during a casual drinking session in the main Okinawan city of Naha Monday night: "Do you declare, 'I am going to rape you,' when you rape someone?" (AFP)