Japan and the US agree to close a Marine helicopter pad beside a college at Camp Schwab in Okinawa

Japan and the United States have agreed to close LZ Phoenix, a helicopter landing zone at the US Marine Corps' Camp Schwab in Nago, Okinawa, that sits close to a national technical college and a residential district. Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced the agreement at his regular press conference after the cabinet meeting on 23 October, telling reporters that the arrangements with the American side were now in place.

Under the plan, the landing zone will not simply disappear from the base. Koizumi said a second landing zone inside Camp Schwab, known as LZ Rail, will be renovated so that the functions the Marines need can be consolidated there, and LZ Phoenix will then be closed. The Okinawa Times reported the same sequence, with closure coming only after those functions have been moved.

The step that made the announcement possible came a day earlier. According to the minister, the Japan-US Joint Committee, the body that handles the operation of American forces in Japan under the two countries' status of forces agreement, agreed on 22 October to carry out ground preparation and related site work as part of the renovation of LZ Rail.

LZ Rail lies about 1 km north of LZ Phoenix, the Ryukyu Shimpo reported, citing the Ministry of Defense. The newspaper said no date has been set for either the closure or the move, and that the timing will be decided in light of further talks with the United States and the progress of construction at LZ Rail. Koizumi said the ministry would announce a specific closure date once coordination with the American side is complete.

The pad has long been a source of complaints. Koizumi said noise from US military aircraft taking off and landing there had become a problem for the surrounding community, and that Nago Mayor Taketoyo Toguchi and local residents had repeatedly asked for its early removal. The Ryukyu Shimpo described LZ Phoenix as the landing zone closest to a settlement, about 300 metres from the sports ground of the National Institute of Technology, Okinawa College. RBC Ryukyu Broadcasting reported that the ministry described the pad as adjacent to the college.

The announcement follows a promise made earlier in the year. Koizumi said he told Toguchi in January that he was working with the United States towards closing the site. The Ryukyu Shimpo reported that this message was delivered at a meeting in Naha with the mayor and the heads of the three districts closest to the base, Henoko, Kushi and Toyohara.

For the Marines, the change is a reshuffle inside the same installation rather than a loss of a helicopter landing capability, because the functions at LZ Phoenix are to be moved to LZ Rail before the older site shuts. For Nago, it moves helicopter landings about 1 km further from the college and nearby homes. Koizumi said the ministry would keep working to close LZ Phoenix as early as possible in response to local wishes.

At the same press conference, Koizumi announced that Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen will visit Japan on 26 October for talks at the Ministry of Defense, saying the two sides would discuss security policy, the regional situation and closer defence cooperation.