Statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan on the Transfer of the Okinawa Approach Control (Kadena RAPCON) to Japan

March 18, 2010
Japanese

I am delighted that the governments of the United States of America and Japan agreed at the Japan-U.S. Joint Committee held on March 18 to transfer the Okinawa Approach Control (commonly known as the Kadena RAPCON) from the United States (United States Forces, Japan, or USFJ) to Japan (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) as of March 31.
After Okinawa was reverted to Japan in 1972, the Kadena RAPCON service has been provided by the USFJ as Naha Airport, Kadena Air Base, and Futenma Air Station have been all located within the Kadena RAPCON airspace. The agreement reached on March 18 was the culmination of the negotiations for transfer between Japan and the United States.
As in the case of the transfer of the Kadena RAPCON, it is vital to find solutions through mutual cooperation for various challenges related to the USFJ. It is hoped that other challenges will be resolved one by one for the sake of smoother and more effective management of the Japan-US security arrangement.

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