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security treaty and okinawa 21 7 2000
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tokyo progressive
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Jan 14, 2001 00:40 PST
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REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION BY the NATIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE FOR
ABROGATION OF THE JAPAN-U.S. SECURITY TREATY
http://homepage1.nifty.com/anpohaki/
Damage and Crime Caused by U.S. Military Bases in Japan:
Appeal from the Venue of the G8 Summit ConferenceForeword
This report reveals that some 130 U.S. bases situated in Japan even more
than a half century after the end of World War II are still
inflicting heavy damage on the people, and that they violate the
sovereignty of Japan.Large numbers of people suffer from accidents,
noise, crimes or environmental destruction from U.S. bases.The
activities
of the U.S. forces in Japan, immune from Japanese legal
jurisdiction, enjoy privileges and protection of the kind that former
colonial powers used to do.We have been struggling for many years
to resolve the problem.Now, when we are about to enter a new century,
this
problem, which runs counter to the dominant trend of the
world, should be rectified without any more delay.We call on you, people
all around the world, to support and extend your solidarity with
our movement in Japan in the demand for the eradication of the damage
caused by the U.S. bases, and the reduction and dismantling of
the bases.
July 2000
National Campaign Committee for Abrogation of the Japan-U.S. Security
Treaty
Organizing Committee of the 2000 Japan Peace Conference
** ****
Basic Data on the U.S. Bases in Japan
1.The number and the acreage of the U.S. bases in Japan (As of Jan. 1,
2000)
Facilities for exclusive use of U.S.:90 (313,586,000 m2)
In Okinawa:37(234,515,000 m2, representing
74.7% of the total)
Facilities for joint use:44 (696,631,000 m2)
In Okinawa:1 (3,074,000 m2)
Total:134 (1,010,217,000 m2)
Others:
Air space offered for U.S. military exercises: 24 locations (including
15
over Okinawa)
Sea areas offered for U.S. military exercises: 49 (including 29 around
Okinawa)
Total73 areas
2.U.S. Forces Stationed in Japan
Personnel:
Total:41,208
Army1,821
Navy:5,840
Air Force13,736
Marines 19,811
*The figures are as of the end of June, 1999, taken from a document
released by the U.S. Defense Department.The crew members of
the U.S. 7th Fleet should be added to this table.
3.Accidents and Crimes
The number of deaths caused by accidents or crimes by the U.S. military
personnel in Japan (since the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty was
first put into force on April 28, 1952)
The total number of incidents:191,122The number of deaths:1,058
Cases while on duty: 45,552Deaths:513
Cases while off duty:145,570Deaths:545
*The number of the cases for 1999 was as of the end of December 1999.
4.Financial Support for the U.S. Forces in Japan
The total sum for 1997:
Japan:3,725 million dollars (76% of the total expenditures of the bases)
ROK:736 million dollars (40%)
Germany:1,225 million dollars (26%)
*The figures are from gDegree of Contribution of the Allies to the
Joint
Defenseh issued by the U.S. Department of Defense in FY
1997
yGeneral Overviewz
U.S. Bases in Japan
U.S. Bases Everywhere in Japan
In Japan, 134 U.S. bases are situated all over the country from Hokkaido
to Okinawa, occupying 1,010,217,000 m2.Of them, 90 are for
the exclusive use of the U.S. forces and the others are for joint use
with
the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF).Of the total
acreage, 75% is concentrated on Okinawa.The bases in Japan exist as a
continuation of the bases of the U.S. occupation forces
stationed in the post World War years, originally intended to gradually
decrease with the passage of time.But in the 1980s, SDF bases
were changed to function as U.S. bases in the form of gjoint useh,
which
doubled the total acreage of bases used for the U.S.
forces.Even after the break-up of the Soviet Union, the U.S. bases in
Japan are expanding and being consolidated, far from being
reduced.Now that many U.S. bases are situated in the midst of heavily
populated areas, such as Yokota Air Base in straddling suburban
areas, noise, accidents and other forms of suffering from the bases are
serious.Adding to the bases, 24 air space areas and 49 sea
areas are also offered to the U.S. forces as their exercise zones.(Some
areas include parts of the high seas and international air
space.)The total of the offered areas is larger than the whole area of
Kyushu Island.Low altitude flight exercises are conducted along 8
routes, and night landing exercises of carrier-based aircraft occur at
many U.S. bases.Actually the U.S. forces are using everywhere in
Japan, immune from any provision of the laws on aviation.
The Only Major Base Overseas of the U.S. Marine Corps and of the
Carrier-Centered Mobile Forces in Japan
The U.S. forces stationed in Japan are about 40,000 strong, of which the
only branch of service not represented in any major way is
the Army. The main forces are Marines stationed in Okinawa (Third Marine
Expeditionary Force) and the 7th Fleet home-porting in
Yokosuka and Sasebo.Outside the mainland USA, Japan is the only country
that hosts U.S. Marines or a carrier-centered task
force.The role of these forces is to operate on a global scale, covering
the Indian Ocean through the West Pacific.There is no unit
among them that is assigned for the defense of Japan.Herein lies the
very
characteristic of the U.S. bases in Japan.
Privileges and Outrages of the U.S. Bases, Denying the Sovereignty of
Japan and Trampling the Will of the
Japanese People
The U.S. forces, in fact, openly conduct military exercises even outside
the bases, exercise grounds, sea zones and air space offered
to them.
The most typical example is their low altitude flight exercises.For
these
exercises, the U.S. forces use 8 flight routes for exercises
from Hokkaido through Okinawa, plus routes for the exercises of the
Self-Defense Forces.The Japanese law on aviation provides that
the lowest limit of aviation is 300 meters over residential areas and
150
meters over non-residential areas.The low altitude flight
exercises of the U.S. forces are conducted totally disregarding these
limits.The Japanese Government condones these exercises,
saying, gThe usual flight exercises that do not accompany such
practices
as live-shooting, are not confined to the areas or air space
offered to U.S. militaryh.
Accidents and crimes involving U.S. forces are frequent in Japan.The
total
number of deaths caused by them is more than 1,000.No
one in the U.S. military personnel, however, is brought to trial, if an
accident or an incident happens while he or she is on duty.Even as
regards the accidents and crimes committed by U.S. military men who are
not on duty, there are many more cases of Japan having
refrained from exercising its judicial rights than in Europe.
Nuclear Weapons Brought into the Only A-Bombed Country
Although the three non-nuclear principles of not producing, not
possessing
and not allowing nuclear weapons to be brought in are a
Japanese national principle, nuclear weapons have actually been brought
into U.S. bases in Japan.Recently, some declassified
documents of the U.S. forces in the Far East revealed a list of the U.S.
bases in Japan that are used to stockpile nuclear weapons,
including some that did not contain nuclear material itself in the
1950s.After the break-up of the Soviet Union, the U.S. changed its
nuclear military posture, withdrawing tactical and theater nuclear
weapons
to the mainland U.S.A., though these weapons would be
re-deployed anytime in the event of contingency.A secret agreement on
the
bringing-in of nuclear weapons, a part of the Japan-U.S.
Security Treaty entitled gRecord of Discussionh and initialed by the
then U.S. Ambassador MacArthur and Japanese Foreign Minister
Aiichiro Fujiyama on January 6, 1960, provides a set-up by which the
U.S.
can have its military planes and warships equipped with
nuclear weapons visit Japanese airfields and seaports at any time it
chooses.
U.S. Bases Are Financed by Taxes from the Japanese People
One mechanism Japan has is the so-called gConsiderate Budgeth, by
which
Japan covers the expenses of the U.S. forces in Japan,
including the cost for building war facilities, schools, housing,
shopping
center and evenbowling centers, salaries for the base workers
and expenses for electricity, gas and water used by the U.S. military
personnelfs families.The budget amounted to 275.6 billion yen in
1999.If the land rent for the U.S. forces is included, the total amount
of
the Japanese coverage rises to 661.9 billion yen, or 16 million
yen (160,000 dollars) for each U.S. soldier in Japan.The fact that the
host country covers the biggest portion of the expenses for the
bases represents an abnormal relationship caused by the presence of U.S.
bases in Japan.
Local Governments Protest Outrages of the U.S. Forces and Demand
Reduction
of Bases
The Shogai-Chijikai, a council of the Governors of the 14 prefectures
having U.S. bases in them, submitted a gPetition on Base
Policyh to the Japanese Government, demanding:
1)Readjustment, reduction and promotion of early reversion of
U.S. bases, and public use of returned base sites with priority to
local interests;
2)Proper review and improvement of both the Status of Forces
Agreement and its application;
3)Given that the low altitude flight exercises in particular
have
a danger of causing noise and other harm, which can lead to
serious accidents, the national Government should conduct an
investigation of them to resolve the anxieties of local residents
concerned, and should see to it that such flights are not
conducted any more; the termination of night landing practice in
particular should be spelled out as an agreement between Japan
and the U.S.A.
These demands represent the urgent and very serious common needs for a
wide range of people in Japan.
We stand for the abrogation of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, the very
basis on which the U.S. bases are situated in Japan, and are
working to build majority support for this goal.The treaty, far from
contributing to peace in Japan and the rest of Asia, aggravates
tension.Our hope is to build a friendly relationship of peace between
Japan and the U.S.A. based on independence and equality, and not
one of hostility as it was before and during WWII, or of Japanfs
subordination as it is today.However, even before the treaty is
abrogated, it is our ardent desire that all injustice arising from the
U.S. bases is revealed and that all the suffering from them be
removed.
yOverview of US Bases in Okinawaz
Damage from Bases in Okinawa is Strikingly Extraordinary Compared with
the
Rest of
Japan
Seventy-five Percent of Military Bases Exclusively for the Use of U.S.
Forces are Concentrated
on Okinawa
Okinawa is a small prefecture that accounts for only 0.6% of the whole
land area of Japan.U.S. bases occupy
20% of the area of Okinawa's main island, and 83% in Kadena Town.Thus,
there are more than 9 municipalities
in Okinawa, over 30% of whose area is used for U.S. bases.Despite the
fact
that there are 1.3 million people
living in the prefecture, the center of city areas of Okinawa is
occupied
by U.S. bases, including Kadena and
Futenma bases.Okinawa is a foothold base of the Third Marine
Expeditionary
Force, the only U.S. Marines that
are deployed and fully maintained abroad.Kadena Base is the biggest air
base in the Far East, and bases of
the U.S. Navy and the Army are also stationed in Okinawa.Okinawa is
indeed
unique in the size of U.S. bases
stationed there.
The Process of the Bases Being Set up is Illegal and Unjust
"The lands of Okinawa used by the U.S. forces were forcibly taken by the
U.S. Forces with bayonets and
bulldozers in defiance of the will of the citizens during and even after
the Okinawa battle."(The first
preparatory document the Okinawa prefectural authority submitted to a
trial over the lands of Okinawa used by
U.S. Forces, December 12, 1995)Okinawa was the only place in Japan at
the
end of WWII where a ground battle
was fought.In the fierce battle called "Iron Storm", the precious lives
of
as many as 160,000 people or
nearly one third of the prefecture's population were lost.More than
12,000
U.S. soldiers were also killed.All
households of Okinawa prefecture have victims of the war within their
families.Like Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
Okinawa is one of the devastated areas in the war of aggression waged by
Japanese militarism.(In 1995, in
commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII, a "Cornerstone
of Peace" was built at Mabuni where
the Okinawa battle came to an end.It has conveyed the wish of the
Okinawans for peace, with the names of
about 230,000 war dead being inscribed irrespective of whether they were
combatants or non-combatants,
friends or foes, Japanese or American.)
The U.S. Forces, in occupying Okinawa, sent surviving citizens to 12
concentration camps they set up.While
detaining them there, the U.S. Forces took away their housing and farm
lands.(It is different from the way
the U.S. bases on the Japanese mainland were established; former
Japanese
military bases were requisitioned
for the use of the U.S. forces.)The lands taken away from the Okinawan
people accounted for 8% of the
prefecture's total area and the number of landowners who lost their
lands
reached 40,000 households.Even
during the war, this act constituted a violation of International Law
(the
Convention gconcernant les lois
et coutumes de la guerre sur terreh - the Hague Convention of Ground
Warfare) which prohibits the
deprivation of private property.
Harsh hardships for Okinawa did not end.In 1952 when the San Francisco
Treaty was concluded, the occupation
of Japan came to an end.However, it was decided to continue the
occupation
of Okinawa.The U.S. planned to
reinforce its bases in Okinawa on a large scale and take land away from
the islanders.It was just when the
Okinawans were in the process of desperately recovering their lives from
the ruins.They strongly resisted,
but in vain.Threatened at bayonet point, they were expelled from their
lands.Their farmlands were bulldozed
and houses were burned down.In this way, their lands were taken away.A
landowner living on Iejima Island
witnessed a U.S. officer saying, gHere is the island we took with the
bloodshed of many U.S. soldiers.You
donft have any rights on the lands.Whether or not you agree, you must
get
out of here.hAs proved by this
testimony, it is a common knowledge among Okinawans that the lands of
Okinawa were seized "by bayonets and
bulldozers.h
When the administrative right of Okinawa reverted to Japan in 1972,
expectation for the return of bases began
to grow.However, the reduction of the bases has made very slow
progress.On
the contrary, the Japanese
government has allowed the presence of U.S. bases, even going so far as
to
enact a special law to enable them
to remain in disregard of the landownersf refusal to renew their land
lease contracts.
Extraordinary Damage from Bases
gRecently, arrogant acts by U.S. servicemen are conspicuous.They seem
to
practically neglect local people.g
This is a critical comment by an Okinawan local paper, the Okinawa
Times,
in its editorial appearing in May
when the Summit meeting was drawing near.The outrages of U.S. servicemen
are still rampant.You can find in
every day's newspaper such headlines as gU.S. firing at a sugarcane
field
scares residents and hampers
farmingh, gSuccessive fires caused by U.S. exercisesh, gDestruction
of
fishery ? growing anger of local
peopleh, etc.Since Okinawafs reversion in 1972, the number of
accidents
involving airplanes totaled 142, of
which 39 crashed and 25 dropped components (the result of a survey by
Okinawa Prefecture).Among the 4953
crimes whose suspects were arrested, 523 were atrocious crimes such as
robbery and rape, and 943 were cases
of assault and other violence.In 1995, a schoolgirl was raped by U.S.
Marines.Protest actions against the
outrage were carried out throughout Okinawa.The Okinawans' anger
exploded
in the face of continuing crimes by
U.S. servicemen and the extraterritoriality given to U.S. Forces under
the
Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)
that exempts U.S. servicemen from being taken into custody by Japanese
police.The revision of SOFA is an
earnest desire of the Okinawans.The assemblies of Okinawa Prefecture and
53 municipalities adopted
resolutions calling for the revision.
Meanwhile, the destruction of the environment by the U.S. Forces is
terrible.U.S. Forces and their exercises
have caused mountain fires, the spill of red clay into the sea from
training sites, the firing of depleted
uranium bullets (DUB) and irresponsible disposal of used DUBs, PCB
(polychlorinated biphenyl) contamination,
etc.These incidents represent extraordinary damage from U.S. bases in
Okinawa which you have never seen on
the Japanese mainland or in the U.S. itself.Even when such an accident
occurs, the Japanese side is not
allowed to go to the spot for investigation.
Final Point of Our Appeal: Okinawa with Such a Harsh History is Being
Pressed to Host a New
Base
The U.S. and Japanese governments are trying to build a huge
state-of-the-art U.S. Marine Air base at Henoko,
Nago City.Since the rape of a girl in 1995 triggered a burst of Okinawan
anger at U.S. bases, voices for the
reduction and removal of bases have grown.The U.S. offered to "return"
Futenma base to Okinawa, but at the
same time it demanded a substitute base.It does not simply mean
providing
the U.S. with another base.The U.S.
is aiming at the construction of a state-of-the-art base and to maintain
it for an indefinite future.This
plot totally turns the back on the wish of the Okinawa people.
The citizens of Nago rejected hosting the new base in a referendum held
in
1997.The area designated for the
construction of the base is a habitat of dugongs (endangered species),
which is one of 16 areas the World
Wildlife Fund (WWF) designated as places needing most to be preserved in
the world.The Duke of Edinburgh,
president emeritus of the WWF, mentioned during his visit to Japan that
top priority should be given to the
conservation of the nature of the Southwest Islands, including
Okinawa.The
Okinawan people are raising their
voices against the outrage that tries to forcibly build a base in this
area.
1.Kadena Base
-- Permanent Threat of Plane Crash: Risk of Recurrence of the Miyamori
Elementary School Disaster --
The Largest U.S. Airbase in the Asia-Pacific Region
Kadena Air Force Base occupies about 20 square kilometers of flat land
and
is inseparable from the 29 square kilometer-wide Kadena
Ammunition Depot.It is the largest U.S. Air Force base in the
Asia-Pacific
region, controlling the airspace of not only the region itself
but 52% of the entire globe.It is located at the heart of the main
island
of Okinawa and sits astride Kadena Town, Chatan Town and
Okinawa City, taking up as much as 83% of Kadena Townfs total area.With
two runways, both about 4,000 meters long and completed in
1967, it now has all functions required to wage a modern war including
NBC
(nuclear, biological and chemical) warfare: supply, attack,
command and control, intelligence, communication etc.During the wars in
Korea and Vietnam, it served as a base for the planes flying
directly for attack missions, and it operated around the clock as a
supply
and support base during the Gulf War.It was also used for the
rescue of American hostages in Iran and the attack against Iraq in 1998.
Fighter Plane Falls in Flames on School
gOn June 30, 1959, at 10:40 a.m., an F-100 jet fighter plane belonging
to
Kadena Airbase crashed on the schoolyard of Miyamori
Elementary School, when the children were cheerfully having milk in
their
classrooms after the second class. Seventeen people,
including 11 school children, were killed in the accident, about 220
people were injured (some heavily), 27 houses, a community hall
nearby and 3 classrooms were completely gutted by fire, and 2 classrooms
half burnth. This is the explanation written on a board
standing besides the gNakayoshi Jizoh (friendship Buddhist statue)
erected in the yard of Miyamori Elementary School in Ishikawa City,
located in the central part of the main island of Okinawa.
For the people of Okinawa Prefecture, this tragic accident is not just a
memory of the past.Even today, many of them live under the
threatening roar of jet airplanes, fearing a plane crash that can happen
any time.In 1968, a B-52 bomber, fully loaded to attack Vietnam,
fell and burnt inside Kadena Base.The toll was 16 people severely or
lightly injured and walls and window panes of 365 houses and school
buildings near the base damaged.There have also been two crashes of air
refueling planes, killing and injuring many local residents and
destroying houses.Last year alone, a defective plane (Harrier), capable
of
vertical landing and take-off, crashed and burned on one of
the runways which was close to a residential area, and a light plane
made
a crashed landing.In protest of these frequent accidents, the
mayor of Ishikawa City declared, gAfter the accident of Miyamori
Elementary School, the citizens are extremely nervous about plane
accidentsh.
Danger of Repetition of Another Disaster Remains
@The U.S. military have never disclosed the true facts concerning these
accidents nor have they taken any serious measures to
prevent them.For the jet fighter crash at Miyamori Elementary School,
they
claimed that it was due to gengine trouble and therefore
inevitableh.However, last year, an investigation conducted by the
Japanese media discovered that the aircraft in question had been
ginsufficiently servicedh, which aroused a strong reaction in the
local
community.
An Okinawan local newspaper wrote:gThe major concern is that the U.S.
armed forces maintain the same attitude. The continued use
of Harrier aircraft, a cause of frequent accidents, is a typical example
of this.It is hardly understandable that the U.S. military still have
the nerve to fly this type of aircraft, one they well know to be
defective.We wonder if they have learnt anything from the jet plane
crash that happened 40 year ago to be able to pursue their flying
exercises today.If they have not, there is no way to bring even a little
justice to the victims who were killed in the plane crashh. (Okinawa
Times editorial, June 29, 1999)
A survey conducted by the prefecture shows that the noise of U.S.
military
aircraft is even affecting the health of people living in the
vicinity of the base.About 70% of the military planes repeatedly landing
and taking-off at Kadena base at a rate of about 80,000 times a
year are jet fighters.The level of the noise they produce is over 80
decibels, with the highest level registered so far being 115
decibels.It causes considerable damage to the local peoplefs life,
interrupting conversations and classes at school and damaging their
health, causing metal instability in children, insomnia in the sick and
the elderly, hearing difficulties, abnormal births, etc.
2.Futenma Base
-- Like Scraping Out the Heart and Stomach From A Human Body: An
Enormous
Obstacle to Local Development
--
The Sole U.S. Marine Base Outside the U.S.
Futenma Base is located in an urbanized area, at the heart of Ginowan
City
in the central part of the main island of Okinawa.During the
Pacific War, in April 1945, U.S. landing troops took over this base then
belonging to the Japanese armed forces in the process of a
ground battle and, after the war was over, they began to transform it
into
a permanent U.S. base.The existing runway was expanded to
2,700 meters and the entry of civilians into the base was prohibited.In
1960, control of the base was passed to the U.S. Marine
Corps.With an area of 483 hectares and a force of over 3,000 soldiers,
it
serves as the main airbase for the First Air Group of the Third
Marine Corps Expeditionary Force, with the deployment of helicopter, air
refueling and support squadrons.Large cargo carriers and
FA-18 fighter-attackers are flying in everyday.The base would no doubt
qualify as one of the most hazardous because of frequent
accidents, anti-social behavior and outright crimes committed by the
military, not to mention the tremendous/deafening noise.The
Ginowan City Assembly and the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly have several
times passed resolutions calling for the stopping of military
training and the removal of the base.
A City Torn to Shreds
gGinowan City has had its public service infrastructure torn to shreds
by
the Futenma airfield located at its center, and it faces
enormous difficulty in developing itself in an efficient and balanced
mannerh (Document attached to the demand for a revision of the
Status of Forces Agreement, produced by the Okinawa Prefectural
Government, November 4, 1995).With Futenma Base occupying the
flat land accounting for 25% of its total area, Ginowan City has had to
develop itself around the base in a doughnut-shape.City planning
and the development of transport, ambulance, fire fighting and other
public services as well as economic activities have been
considerably hampered by the presence of the base.The mayor said:
gItfs
like taking out the heart and stomach from a human being.No
human can survive without these essential organs.We cannot have vitality
as a cityh.
@Examples of how the base disrupts the life of Ginowan City:
*Transport: Congestion because of detours and the irregular layout of
the
roads
*Waterworks: Longer installation distance because of having to loop the
base, the need for pumping water up, plus increased installation
and running costs
*Height limitation on buildings: Some condominiums had to be dismantled
because of the limitation, the height being limited to 15
meters for some school buildings
*Fire service: 3 stations instead of one, because of the doughnut-shape
of
the city.The urbanized area is literally broken into pieces
and there is no possibility of establishing east-west or north-south
connections to form a balanced community life.
The gMost Dangerous Baseh
Flight training involving helicopters and touch-and-go practice of
KC-130
air refueling planes take place every day from 6 a.m. to 11
p.m. Marine aircraft are flying daily at low attitudes over the major
densely populated areas of the main island of Okinawa, including the
cities of Naha, Urasoe and Ginowan.In addition, prior to taking off, the
planes rev up their engines almost unceasingly for checking,
which is very annoying for the residents around the base.There are 16
schools and many health and social facilities surrounding the
base.Education, research and health facilities as well as residential
buildings are also concentrated under the flying route of the military
aircraft.Over 200,000 people in total are affected by the noise.Futenma
Base has become an unbearable presence for the local
development and the people who live there.
3.Misawa Base
-- Towns Shattered by the Roaring Noise --
F-16 Base Unit Watching Over the World
Misawa Base is located in Misawa City, Aomori prefecture, at the
northern
end of Honshu, Japanfs main island.1,200 people, including
U.S. military personnel and their families live there.It covers 2,200
hectares of land (mostly owned by the national government),
accounting for about 20% of the cityfs land area.Thirty six F-16
fighters
and two squadrons of the 35th Air Division deployed there are
integrated in the so-called Expeditionary Air Force, daily mobilized for
gsurveillance operationsh over Iraq, and taking part in missile
attack missions of Iraq.F-16s conduct daily routine low-flying
exercises,
causing noise pollution and accidents.Equipped with a group of
giant antennas, it is the largest U.S. base in Asia for intelligence
collection and also serves the function of being an anti-submarine
reconnaissance base. CONTINUED IN NEXT NOTE
Date: Jul 21 2000 23:23:25 EDT
From: "Chocopaul News" <pa-@arenson.org>
Subject: Okinawa Bases PART 3: Crime and Insecurity
SEE THE PRVIOUS NOTE FOR THE FIRST PART OF THE ARTICLE
A Message for Future Generations
Because of the unbearable noise of the F-16s and permanent threat of
plane
accidents, entire communities have moved or disappeared
from the map, such as Shikawame District, west of the runway, or
Hirahata
District on the eastern flank.
The residentsf association of Shikawame, from which 1,617 people from
378
families were relocated, erected a monument on the site
of the Shinto shrine which still remains there.On the monument stone,
one
can read: gThe people of Shikawame Town have prospered,
blessed by the earth and the heaven, but they also had to struggle
against
winds and snow and survived plagues, tidal waves and other
natural disasters.Their predecessors went through many hardships, lost
what they had built but repeatedly rebuilt them with their sweat
and tears, their hands stained with their own blood.They lived in
splendor
at times but also in despair.Since 1985, the noise of more
than 50 F-16 fighter-bombers and night training by planes from on board
an
aircraft carrier began to assault the town night and day
with a deafening noise beyond description.To save the people from this
deplorable situation, we repeatedly protested through Misawa
City authorities to both the Japanese government and the U.S. Air Force,
demanding they stop the flights and training.People who
could not stand the noise began to leave the town one after another.On
May
2, 1987, the residents of Shikawame District decided by
consensus to collectively relocate the town.We will hand this fact down
from generation to generationh.
Intense Noise and Risk of Plane Crash
These people, forced to move from the town because of the unbearable
intense noise of the F-16s, engraved their regret, their deep
sorrow, their outrage in the stone of the monument.Entire towns, the
home
of these people, disappeared because of the damage
caused by a foreign military base.How can this have been allowed to
happen?
The noise of the F-16s is seriously affecting the people in every aspect
of their lives.When military exercises take place, the local
people are exposed to the noise more than 300 times a day, and the noise
continues into the night with the NLP (night landing
practice).
Because of the noise, 973 houses in Misawa City have been or are
scheduled
for relocation, and 5,867 others, accounting for one third
of the cityfs total households, need the installation of soundproofing
and half of all the total houses in the city receive compensation
for TV reception problems.A student of the Second Misawa Junior High
School says: gThe noise we hear every day during our classes
is terrible.On theworst days, planes are flying almost all the time from
the first period to the sixth period and sometimes half of 50
minute class is suspended.h (gMinutes of Misawa City Simulated
Assembly
for Youthh of April 1993).The Second Misawa Junior High
School has already been relocated and Misawa Elementary School will also
be transferred next year.@In addition to the noise, F-16s
belonging to Misawa Base have been involved in many accidents: during
the
period from their deployment in 1986 to today, six of them
have crashed and one exploded on the ground.Those involved in major
accidents account for nearly 20 % of the total number of F-16s
deployed there, exposing the local people to the risk of plane
accidents.There have also been cases of dropping of practice bombs or
spare tanks near nuclear fuel cycle facilities.In 1991, a one-ton live
bomb was dumped some kilometers off Misawa coast and has not
been retrieved even now.
@@The Union of Associations of Town Residents around the base which
organizes a majority of town associations in Misawa City,
protests the night landing practice, Japan-U.S. joint exercises and F-16
accidents each time they occur and demands measures for
reducing the noise and compensation for the damage incurred.However, the
U.S. military does not respond honestly to these repeated
protests and demands of Misawa citizens.
4. Yokota Base
-- Severe Noise Damage in the Capital --
U.S. Military Command in Japan
Yokota Base, headquarters of the U.S. Military Command in Japan, is a
U.S.
Air Force base situated in the suburbs of Tokyo, Japanfs
capital comprising a number of municipalities.Yokota is only 30
kilometers
west of Shinjuku, one of the main areas of downtown
Tokyo.It also serves as a logistic base and has a 3,350-meter long
runway.It takes up 7.13 million square meters of land.Tama Service
facilities, auxiliary to the base with an area of 1.98 million square
meters are located in the vicinity.These facilities include a golf
course and a camping site.No country other than Japan hosts such a vast
foreign military base right in its capital.
The Biggest Lawsuit in Japan against the gUnbearableh
The total population of the 6 municipalities (5 cities and 1 town)
surrounding Yokota Base is 474,000.Including the population of 4
other nearby municipalities, several tens of thousands of people in
total
are affected by the noise of U.S. military planes.The number of
flights to and from Yokota Base amounts to between 15,000 and 17,000 a
year, more than 40 per day on average, but sometimes it can
be over 200 a day.The noise intensity is 80 to 100 decibels or more,
equivalent to the noise produced by a subway train entering a
station.
The Supreme Court of Japan in February 1993 recognized that flight
training activity by U.S. military aircraft was illegal and ordered the
Japanese government to compensate the damage incurred by the local
people
in the past.In spite of this judiciary decision, the flights
continue.The Japanese and U.S. governments have agreed to suspend the
flights from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., but flights in early morning
after 6 and night flying practice have not stopped and are still causing
damage due to noise.Late night or early morning flights even
during the restricted period sometimes take place despite the agreement,
and the number of flights during the daytime has not
decreased.
The sleep of the people living in the surrounding area is considerably
disturbed by the noise.The urgent demand of these people is to
get back their quiet nights.Their daily lives are increasingly affected
by
the noise: interruption of daily conversations, reading books,
study etc. as well as bad reception of radio and TV.The classes are
often
interrupted in schools.Teachers say their pupils have had
their classes interrupted@1,200 times during the six years of
elementary
school and that the flying in of the airplanes not only
reduces the learning efficiency of every child, but also eventually
makes
him or her a nervous and uneasy person.At the noise of flying
military planes babies cry and cling to their mothers, while adults are
driven into an unstable mental state, with feelings of
unpleasantness, nervousness and uneasiness, factors associated with
various physical problems such as hardness of hearing, ringing in
the ears, headaches and hypertension.People also complain about their
houses trembling due to the flights of U.S. planes and air
pollution from the jet exhaust.
Currently, about 6,000 people are suing the Japanese and U.S.
governments,
demanding the restriction of flights at night and
compensation for the damage incurred.The lawsuit is the biggest in the
Japanfs judiciary history.
Surrounding Municipalities Call for the Removal of the Base
Municipalities juxtaposing the base have more than once demanded the
U.S.
troops in Japan that they stop flying practices.In July
1999, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly passed and submitted to the
central
government a resolution indicating that the problems
related to the base such as noise pollution hamper the development of
local communities, calling for the restitution to Japan of Yokota
Base and its Tama Service Facilities. A number of municipalities have
presented their demands: gThe return of the base will make it
possible to implement wide-area urban development in collaboration with
other municipalities (Hamura City)h; gWe demand a complete
restitution which will allow its peaceful use, such as parks (Tachikawa
City)h; gWe demand measures for protecting the environment
from the pollution from dioxin produced by the incinerator within the
base
and fuel leak accidents (Musashi-murayama City).To date,
the assemblies of 5 wards, 22 cities and 2 towns in the Tokyo Metropolis
have adopted recommendations calling for the restitution of
Yokota Base.
5.Yokosuka Base:
--A Naval Base for Nuclear War--
The Largest of the U.S. Navy Bases Outside the U.S.
The U.S. Navy base located at the mouth of Tokyo Bay, the entrance of
Tokyo Metropolis, hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Navy
Command and is the homeport of Kitty Hawk, the main aircraft carrier of
the U.S. 7th Fleet, as well as 10 vessels of the Mobile
Aircraft-Carrier Squadron.The command of the submarine troop of the
Seventh Fleet is also located at this base that serves as a
major port for the U.S. Navy, with nuclear submarines moored there about
200 days a year.Yokosuka is the only place outside the U.S.
where the U.S. Navyfs aircraft-carriers have homeported since 1973.The
base, which occupies most of the port of Yokosuka, has a
total area of about 337 hectares, with an ammunition depot and oil
storage
facilities.
Nuclear Weapons Have Been Brought in
In 1974, retired rear admiral Gene LaRoque gave testimony before the
U.S.
Congress to the following effect:gOur aircraft carrier has
nuclear capabilities.These nuclear weapons can be loaded on various
types
of other ships and are actually loaded in most of the
cases.According to my experience, they are not unloaded when the ship
enters a Japanese or other foreign port.hSince the disclosure
of this striking testimony, the city of Yokosuka, gwhich is absolutely
opposed to the bringing-in of nuclear weapons, has almost
everyday demanded that the government investigate the factsh
(gYokosuka
City and the Baseh, published by Yokosuka City).Since
then, demonstrations and rallies have been held each time similar
testimonies were given or a U.S. military ship entered the
port.Yokosuka City has repeatedly made representations to the central
government to demand the verification of ships entering the
port.The governmentfs response however has always been the same: gAs
no
prior consultation has been made by the U.S. government
on the introduction of nuclear weapons, it is clear that these weapons
have not been brought into Japanh. (The Japanese government
claims that bringing-in of nuclear weapons, including the port calls of
vessels carrying them, is subject to prior consultation under the
Japan-U.S. Security Treaty).
In 1989, however, another accident involving nuclear weapons was
disclosed.In fact, in 1965, a plane carrying a hydrogen bomb fell from
the U.S. aircraft carrier Ticonderoga in the sea offshore of Okinawa, on
its way from the Vietnamese shore to Yokosuka Port.This solid
fact showing that the aircraft carrier, headed for Yokosuka, was
actually
loaded with nuclear bombs, gave the lie to the explanation that
had so far been given by the Japanese government.The mayor and the city
assembly jointly demanded a thorough investigation. At the
beginning, the Japanese government responded that it had gserious
concern
and already made an inquiry to the U.S.hHowever, a half
year later, when Washington refused to reply, saying that gFurther
discussion on this matter would affect our policy on the
management of the armed forcesh, the Japanese government issued a
statement that it gunderstands the definitive reply of the U.S.
governmenth and that it gdoes not intend to make another inquiry to
the
U.S. governmenth.Many Japanese were surprised and
outraged at the shameless attitude of the Japanese government that tried
to cover-up the scandal instead of exposing it.The Mayor
declared that he was gdeeply worried about the matter that may give
rise
to peoplefs distrust of the governmenth.
Secret Nuclear Agreement Undermines Official Explanation
In spring 2000, a declassified U.S. official document carrying the full
text of the Japan-U.S. secret agreement, signed at the time of the
revision of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, revealed that bringing-in of
nuclear weapons, including the port calls of warships carrying
these weapons, was not subject to prior consultations between the two
countries.The document in question clearly says that gthe
prior consultation is not understood as affecting the current procedure
concerning the deployment into Japan of U.S. troops and their
equipment, flying-in of U.S. military aircraft, entering of U.S. vessels
in Japanese territorial waters and portsh.The gcurrent procedureh
means the free entry and exit of airplanes and warships carrying nuclear
weapons allowed under the security treaty before its revision.
Thus, the official explanation provided by the government to Yokosuka
City
proved to be completely ungrounded.The issue was raised in
the Diet, but the government tries to ignore it by saying that gsuch a
document does not existh and gthere will be no investigationh
(statements of Prime Minister Mori).Ironically, the Japanese Prime
Minister, notorious for his subservience to the U.S., tries to deny
an official document of the U.S. government as gfalseh or a gmade-up
storyh.Yokosuka City citizens, puzzled and outraged at the
attitude of the Japanese government, are voicing their protest.
Thus, the giant U.S. naval base is maintained, barely legitimated by a
fabricated story and surrounded by the doubting eyes of the local
people.
6.Atsugi Base
-- Dioxin and the Roar of Jet Planes: 30,000 Flights Per Year Affecting
the Lives of 1.5 Million People --
Forming One Body with Yokosuka Base: Foothold of the Navy Air Troops
Confiscated at the end of the WWII in 1945 by the U.S. armed forces,
Atsugi serves as the base for the U.S. Navyfs air squadron and is
famous as a base of espionage and the reconnaissance plane U-2.Since
Yokosuka was transformed into the homeport of the aircraft
carrier Midway in 1973, Atsugi Base has been used by the planes on board
the Midway and often hosts flying practices and air
shows.The base has an area of 5,067,119 square meters and a 3,000 x 45
meter runway.
The Reign of U.S. Armed Forces
Japanfs Defense Agency Director Kawara at 6 a.m. on March 15, 2000,
arrived at the base to visit the industrial waste disposal plant
located next to the base.The U.S. military had claimed for several years
that the fumes from that plant containing a high concentration
of dioxin directly hit the houses of the personnel.Kawarafs
exceptionally
early morning visit of the plant had been hastily organized,
when he learnt that U.S. Defense Secretary Cohen, alerted by this issue,
was expected to visit the site before the Japan-U.S. defense
summit meeting to be held on the following day.At the summit, it was
decided that Japan would provide for free alternative houses to
the families of the U.S. military personnel.
The reaction of the people living around the base at this news was
complex.They said: gWhat about the terrible noise of the base we
sufferh; gthe Defense Agency Director had never cared to visit the
site
despite our repeated requesth.The U.S. military is the king in
Atsugi.The plight of the local people who suffer various damage caused
by
the base is neglected or even ignored by the Japanese
government.This is the inadmissible but the uncontestable reality in
Atsugi.
Arbitrary Behavior of the U.S. Military Trampling on the Peoplefs
Lives:
gNo More NLP!h
The area surrounding Atsugi Base is one of the most densely populated
areas in Kanagawa prefecture.The most serious damage the
people suffer is the roar of aircraft flying day and night over the area
at a rate of 30,000 times a year.About 1.5 million people are
affected by the noise.A survey conducted in the past by the prefecture
showed that about 90% of the local people complain about the
noise of military planes and demand the removal of the base itself.
Since training facilities were constructed on Iojima Island (completed
in
1993), most of the night landing practices (= NLP, landing and
take-off practices using part of the runway on the ground, supposing it
as
a deck of an aircraft-carrier) conducted in Atsugi Base has
been transferred to Iojima, but this does not help reduce the noise.The
NLP is still sometimes conducted at Atsugi and the damage to
the local people has not decreased.
The military training is conducted arbitrarily, in total disregard of
the
local peoplefs lives. In September 1999, when primary and junior
high schools around the base were holding sports day festivals, an air
show was staged at the base, in spite of the prior protest
formulated by the local people, teachersf union and the
municipality.The
air show was planned on a day when the base was open to the
general public and spoiled the sports day festivities the children had
long been looking forward to.In addition, daytime flight training
which accompanied NLP was conducted in February 2000, on the day of
entrance examinations of public high schools.The mayor of
Ayase City manifested his anger at the insensitivity of the U.S.
military
which increased the uneasiness and outrage of the local people.
More recently, the agreement between the base and the municipalities,
including the gsuspension of flights from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.h,
glimitation of number of aircraft in training to 2h and gmassive
flights for training purpose being subject to prior noticeh, has been
neglected.
Faced with these problems related to the base, the concerned
municipalities are actively petitioning for the cancellation of training
and
at the same time informing and educating the local communities.For
example, Yamato City, which demands an gearly return of the base
to Japanh, on November, 1999 featured in its publication an article
entitled gNo More NLPh, criticizing the roaring noise of airplanes on
board the U.S. aircraft-carrier, which makes people restless and
disrupts
their quiet life.The article denounces in particular the fact
that while 90% of NLP has been officially transferred to Iojima training
facility, it continues to seriously affect the peoplefs daily lives.
7. Iwakuni Base
-- Peoplefs Lives Threatened by Low-Altitude Flight and Night Landing
Practices --
Home of Marine Corp Air Station
Iwakuni City is located next to the A-bombed city of Hiroshima.It is the
home of U.S. Marine Corp Air Station, Iwakuni Base.Major units
of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, which together take action with Marine
Corps ground units in Okinawa and the landing ship units in
Sasebo, are stationed here with 45 to 50 aircraft, including 36 FA-18
Hornets and 6 AV8B Harriers.In the past year alone, these air
units of U.S. Marines have carried out military exercises in Thailand,
the
Republic of Korea and Australia.During the Gulf War, these air
units were directly involved in the fighting operation.As this
illustrates, areas from the Middle East and the entire West Pacific are
within the operational range of these units.
Base for Low-Altitude Flight Training
The Marine aircraft in Iwakuni repeatedly carry out audacious low-flight
training.Planes taking off from Iwakuni base follow either the
Brown Route (from Iwakuni through northern Hiroshima to a mountainous
area
of Hyogo Prefecture) or the Orange Route (from
Iwakuni through the Shikoku mountains to Wakayama Prefecture) to conduct
fierce low flight exercises.They also carry out various
kinds of training in so-called Area 567 that covers an area northwest of
Hiroshima Prefecture and all of Shimane Prefecture.People
living under these routes are subjected to the constant danger of
crashes
and exposed to the roar generated by the jet fighters.
On October 14, 1994, a Marine aircraft crashed 6 kilometers upstream
from
Sameura Dam in Kochi Prefecture.It has been revealed
that the dam had been made a target of their low-altitude
training.Considering that there are village offices, a nursery and
elementary
and secondary schools not far from the crash site, a split second
misjudgment of the pilots could have caused a tragic disaster.Another
FA-18 which crashed on January 20, 1999 is also proven to had been
flying
with gmock targetingh Kamo power facility of the Shikoku
Electric Power Corporation located in Saijo City, Ehime Prefecture.The
fighter had crashed while carrying out air-to-air refueling
offshore Kochi Prefecture.As long as such training continues, another
crash could take place at any time.This is a pressing issue for
safety of the residentsf lives.gI saw a fighter skimming the surface
of
the school.The roaring was so loud as if a mountain was
experiencing a landslide.A man who was trimming a tree almost fell
off.h
(A resident of Kito Village, Tokushima Prefecture.)gWhen they
do the training we cannot hear the sound of a phone ringing.They would
fly
as late as 9 or 10 ofclock into the night.When I am taking a
bath I get frightened to hear the thundering noise, thinking eit might
crash this timef.h (a resident of Kochi Town, Hiroshima
Prefecture.)
A 2nd grader of a local elementary school wrote his experience of
encountering a low flying fighter.gWhen I was digging dandelion roots
with my friends, an airplane came flying so low toward us.I felt like it
was trying to target me.My heart beat real loud.We ran and hid
under the roof of the Sumo wrestling ground. I was scared.h
Responding to the damage and fear suffered by the people, the town
government of Geihoku Town of northern Hiroshima Prefecture
took the initiative of setting up a network for collecting eye-witness
reports from the people on the U.S. low-flight exercise, and
enhanced its activities to monitor and gather information on the
training.
Citizens of Iwakuni also suffer from the roaring generated by night
landing practice (NLP).NLP is often conducted by aircraft of the
Marine Corps stationed at Iwakuni base or from an aircraft
carrier.According to an agreement between the Marines and local
municipalities of the region, U.S. forces are required to notify the
municipalities about their NLP plan one week in advance, not to fly
nor conduct exercises over factories and/or urban areas after 9 p.m. and
to restrict the number of aircraft flying to 3 at a time.The
Marines, however, often breaks these rules.
Unprecedented Protest by Governor against Tokyofs Reluctance
A night landing practice carried out on January 9, 1998 was
extraordinary.Carrier-borne aircraft of the Independence conducted the
exercise without prior notice and until 12 ofclock midnight over the
city.At times there were 8 FA-18s flying at once.For the 5 days of
the NLP, the number of telephone calls of complaint the city office
received exceeded 900.Immediately after the training, the
Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture together with Iwakunifs Mayor made a
visit to the Foreign Ministry and Defense Agency.They
demanded that the Japanese government press the U.S. for the cessation
of
such practices. Such a case of direct protest by a
governor to the central government was unprecedented.
8. U.S. Sasebo Naval Base
-- Uncharged Hit-and-Run by U.S. Military: Gigantic Military Base
Threatens Peoplesf Life and Security --
Sortie and Supply Base Closely Linked to Okinawa
Sasebo port belongs to Sasebo City of Nagasaki Prefecture.Its area of
the
sea is 2.5 times larger than that of Yokohama port, 4 times
that of Kobe port and 10 times that of Nagasaki port.Most of the
extensive
area is dominated by the U.S. Sasebo Naval Base.The basefs
function is immediately connected with the Marine Corps in Okinawa, and
it
accommodates 4 landing craft, including the
state-of-the-art and the biggest assault landing craft Essex (it
delivers
Marines and their equipment for landing operations).Japan is
the only country that offers its land for the homeport of U.S. assault
craft, allowing them to prepare for landing operations against their
enemyfs territory.Furthermore, in 1994 the U.S. deployed the LCAC
(Landing Craft, Air Cushion) unit for the first time outside its
territory.It now plans to construct a new base for the exclusive use of
LCACs in the Yokose district of Saikai Town, which is adjacent
to the present site.This new base would be 4 times larger in area and
would accommodate 12 LCACs, twice the current number.
Outrageous Acts of the U.S. Military in Sasebo Bay
Going to Sasebo Bay, you will find it unusual as if it were gdeadh, as
locals put it.There is scarcely a commercial ship there.This is
because 83% of the bay area, or 2,746 ha, is occupied by the U.S. forces
for their exclusive use.The following is an example of how
their presence and behavior as if it were American territory is posing a
threat to the lives and security of the people.
In the middle of the night of July 18, 1994, a Japanese fishing boat,
Fujimaru (4 tons) was hit by a small military craft that belonged to a
U.S. supply ship.The unlighted military ship hit and damaged the lighted
fishing boat, and yet it extended no rescue measures.It was an
incident that demonstrated their complete lack of responsibility for
their
act.The captain and his wife aboard Fujimaru as well as 9
soldiers on the U.S. craft were injured.
According to the testimony of the captain of Fujimaru, gSuddenly an
unlighted ship appeared in front of us so I steered the boat to the
right in haste but it was too late.Of course our boat had both its
navigation and work lights on, because my wife was sorting out the
prawns.hThe captain of another fishing boat, the Segawamaru, which was
in
the area at the time of the incident testified, gOur boat and
the Fujimaru passed each other just before the accident.I can assure you
that the Fujimaru had its lights on.The lights were still on
after the collision but I saw no lights from the U.S. ship.hHowever,
the
U.S. side insisted that they did have their lights on and had a
watchman on deck, but the fishing boat had no lights on.
The Maritime Safety Agency sent the paperspertaining to the case to the
Public Prosecutor's Office on account of gnegligence in
keeping watchh on both sides.However, upon receiving the document from
the U.S. military certifying that the ship was gon official
dutyh, the Prosecutorfs Office immediately dropped the case against
the
U.S.As a result, only the captain of the fishing boat was
charged with a crime.
A fellow fisherman said that gthe captain is the victim and it is the
U.S. ship that caused the accident by not having its lights on.It is
like calling white black if the real criminals get away with impunity
and
the captain gets punished.hThe locals were angry at such an
injustice going unchallenged and deeply concerned that another accident
of
this kind could happen any time.
Concern for LCAC Collision with Ferryboat
The planned new LCAC base is another source of concern to the
people.Yamashita Masatoshi runs a ferry company, Segawa Kisen in
the bay area.His ferry service is a reliable transportation means for
the
locals.Yamashita expressed his fear that gIf LCACs conducted
their training in the bay, there would be 37 to 40 points in our ferry
service routes where a LCAC and a ferry could cross.And thatfs
very dangerous.h
Hindering Operation of Local Industry
Sesebo Heavy Industries (SSK) is a key industry of the city.According to
the Special Land Lease Law that was concluded based on the
Status of Forces Agreement, U.S. forces are given prerogative to use
SSKfs 3rd dock free of charge with only 7 daysf advance
notification.In 1996, the U.S. Navy asked SKK to vacate a dock for the
repair of the Belleau Wood.Moreover, it demanded the vacating
of Tategami Pier and the Akazaki district, designated Japan-U.S.
joint-use
areas of the port, the land of which is owned and has been
used by SSK.Deprived of its important facilities, SSKfs production
capability suffered grave damage.SKK, its trade union and the owners
of related industries are strongly opposed to such demands.
******
yAcknowledgementz
We are indebted to peace activists and researchers across Japan for the
completion of this booklet.
For further details, contact:
Organizing Committee of the 2000 Japan Peace Conference
1-4-9 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo JAPAN
E-mail: LPA0-@nifty.ne.jp
¦The Organizing Committee is run by a number of trade unions,
organizations and individuals in Japan.Its annual conference is held in
the fall with the goals for the abrogating the Japan-U.S. Security
Treaty
and the withdrawal of U.S. military bases, and it discusses and
sets out directions for future struggles.
National Campaign Committee for Abrogation of the Japan-U.S. Security
Treaty
2-14-6 Misaki-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo JAPAN
E-mail: anpo-@nifty.com
¦This is a coalition for the promotion of campaigns and rallies to
address issues related to the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.A number
of trade unions and other democratic organizations are members of the
Committee.
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