2019 Volume 25 Pages 71-87
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how damage caused by military activity has affected society from the viewpoint of environmental sociology. Focusing on a case study of the problems caused by the transfer of carrier-based aircraft from Atsugi U. S. Military Base, Kanagawa Prefecture to Iwakuni U. S. Military Base, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, the process of the offshore relocation project at Iwakuni Base is examined. In addition, the underlying reasons for holding a referendum to determine local people’s opinions about the transfer of aircraft to Iwakuni are clarified.
After the referendum resulted in the decision not to support the transfer of aircraft to Iwakuni Base, the Japanese government put an end to the massive infusion of state subsidies for building a new town hall in Iwakuni. It also banned the development of a new residential area, and instead built U. S. military houses on Atago Mountain. Furthermore, despite many people having objected to the policy in the local referendum, the transfer of aircraft from Atsugi to Iwakuni proceeded.
The manner in which the local community has been influenced by a multitude of policies based on the large-scale infusion of state subsidies related to the U. S. military base is explained. The paper also clarifies how the transformation of the local community has made civil movements and lawsuits more difficult, and why some people have given up objecting to the decisions made in Iwakuni.
Utilizing the Iwakuni Base case study, the paper reveals a detrimental structure of military environmental problems that is characterized by having (i) no function allowing for the adherence to environmental regulations, (ii) no legitimacy to exercise policies, (iii) an asymmetrical decision-making authority and a closed-off decision making process, and (iv) an inclination to conceal information. It is evident that environmental problems caused by military activity results in widespread damage and local residents are unable to decide the future of their own community. As militarization progresses, people in local communities will become anxious and skeptical, and will gradually give up their autonomy over their own communities. Finally, the paper proposes that scholars further study military environmental problems in environmental sociology.
