Plan for U.S. military housing is presented
Sep. 6, 2010
by Yasuyoshi Hirota and Daigo Kanezashi, Staff Writers
On September 3, Senior Vice Defense Minister Kazuya Shimba presented a plan in which the former Atagoyama housing development area in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture will be used for U.S. military facilities to Yamaguchi Governor Sekinari Nii and Iwakuni Mayor Yoshihiko Fukuda. The Ministry of Defense is seeking to acquire the site. With the transfer of carrier planes from Naval Air Facility Atsugi to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, the plan calls for 270 houses and other buildings to be constructed. A meeting to explain the plan with Iwakuni residents will be held soon.
At the Yamaguchi Prefectural Office, Mr. Shimba described the plan to Yamaguchi Governor Nii and others and at Iwakuni City Hall, to Iwakuni Mayor Fukuda and others. Of the nearly 102-hectare site, the ministry is planning to acquire three-quarters of the flat land, equaling about 45 hectares, along with the surrounding forest. A budget of 19.9 billion yen has been prepared.
According to the plan, nearly 28 hectares to the west is designated as a family housing area, with about 270 houses for military officials and a fire station. The number of soldiers and their families to be transferred to Iwakuni from Atsugi, due to the transfer of carrier planes and other factors, is about 4,100. The United States is seeking roughly 1,060 homes. The ministry plans to build three-quarters of the requested houses in the Iwakuni Air Station.
With regard to the eastern side of the site, about 17 hectares are to be used for sports facilities including a baseball field, a soccer field with a 400-meter track, and a community center. The opportunity for Iwakuni citizens to use the sports facilities with prior notice is also planned. Except for the 17 hectares, Iwakuni intends to use about 15 hectares in the eastern side as an area for town development.
In response to the explanation from Mr. Shimba, Governor Nii stressed that the decision over whether or not the site will be sold to the government will be made with respect to the opinion of the city of Iwakuni. Iwakuni Mayor Fukuda said that he would like to reach a decision after considering the views of the assembly and citizens and discussing the matter with the prefecture.
Yamaguchi Prefecture and Iwakuni City have requested that the government buy the site to make up for the loss of as much as 24.6 billion yen in a failed housing development project. Some citizens support the plan while others living near the Atago district are waging an active campaign in opposition.
(Originally published on September 4, 2010)
Keywords
Atagoyama district development operation
In line with providing earth for building an offshore runway for the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, a Yamaguchi government corporation to provide housing began developing the area in 1998. The initial plan was to sell the excavated earth to the government and build housing units for 1,500 families. However, Yamaguchi Prefecture and Iwakuni City anticipated a large loss due to sluggish land prices, among other reasons, and they agreed to stop the development in June 2007. In February 2009, the plan was officially scrapped.
On September 3, Senior Vice Defense Minister Kazuya Shimba presented a plan in which the former Atagoyama housing development area in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture will be used for U.S. military facilities to Yamaguchi Governor Sekinari Nii and Iwakuni Mayor Yoshihiko Fukuda. The Ministry of Defense is seeking to acquire the site. With the transfer of carrier planes from Naval Air Facility Atsugi to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, the plan calls for 270 houses and other buildings to be constructed. A meeting to explain the plan with Iwakuni residents will be held soon.
At the Yamaguchi Prefectural Office, Mr. Shimba described the plan to Yamaguchi Governor Nii and others and at Iwakuni City Hall, to Iwakuni Mayor Fukuda and others. Of the nearly 102-hectare site, the ministry is planning to acquire three-quarters of the flat land, equaling about 45 hectares, along with the surrounding forest. A budget of 19.9 billion yen has been prepared.
According to the plan, nearly 28 hectares to the west is designated as a family housing area, with about 270 houses for military officials and a fire station. The number of soldiers and their families to be transferred to Iwakuni from Atsugi, due to the transfer of carrier planes and other factors, is about 4,100. The United States is seeking roughly 1,060 homes. The ministry plans to build three-quarters of the requested houses in the Iwakuni Air Station.
With regard to the eastern side of the site, about 17 hectares are to be used for sports facilities including a baseball field, a soccer field with a 400-meter track, and a community center. The opportunity for Iwakuni citizens to use the sports facilities with prior notice is also planned. Except for the 17 hectares, Iwakuni intends to use about 15 hectares in the eastern side as an area for town development.
In response to the explanation from Mr. Shimba, Governor Nii stressed that the decision over whether or not the site will be sold to the government will be made with respect to the opinion of the city of Iwakuni. Iwakuni Mayor Fukuda said that he would like to reach a decision after considering the views of the assembly and citizens and discussing the matter with the prefecture.
Yamaguchi Prefecture and Iwakuni City have requested that the government buy the site to make up for the loss of as much as 24.6 billion yen in a failed housing development project. Some citizens support the plan while others living near the Atago district are waging an active campaign in opposition.
(Originally published on September 4, 2010)
Keywords
Atagoyama district development operation
In line with providing earth for building an offshore runway for the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, a Yamaguchi government corporation to provide housing began developing the area in 1998. The initial plan was to sell the excavated earth to the government and build housing units for 1,500 families. However, Yamaguchi Prefecture and Iwakuni City anticipated a large loss due to sluggish land prices, among other reasons, and they agreed to stop the development in June 2007. In February 2009, the plan was officially scrapped.
