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The US Marine Corps in Japan reached an agreement today with municipalities in Okinawa to open its bases near the sea to local residents if a tsunami were to hit the southern island prefecture.
The Marine Corps signed the deal with the seaside city of Ginowan and the nearby town of Chatan, promising it will let evacuees access its Futenma Air Station and Camp Zukeran so they can flee from big waves to higher ground.
The government of Ginowan said it became the first in Japan to conclude such an emergency deal with the US military in the country.
“We understand that our installation facilities and areas are far more than US military enclaves. They are platforms for providing international humanitarian assistance and emergency relief,” Maj. Gen. Peter Talleri, installations commander of the Marine Corps, told a ceremony.
“You may be assured that the Marine Corps is committed to doing everything we can to be prepared to respond in the event of a natural disaster,” Talleri said to the audience, including Ginowan Mayor Atsushi Sakima and Chatan Mayor Masaharu Noguni, at the camp.
The Ginowan and Chatan governments sought such an accord with the US military as residents would have to go around the bases to reach higher ground in the event of a tsunami.
In April 2007, Japan and the US agreed to let local governments in Japan use US military premises deal with natural disasters on the condition that localities sign relevant deals with the military.
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