United States Forces Japan
Encyclopedia : U : UN : UNI : United States Forces Japan
United States Forces Japan (USFJ, Japanese: 在日米軍) refers to the various divisions of the United States Armed Forces that are stationed in Japan. There are currently 47,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan, and another 5,500 American civilians employed there by the United States Department of Defense.
By the terms of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, USFJ is responsible for the security of the Japanese archipelago past its 12-nmi territorial waters. Within this limit, the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) are responsible for security.
The USFJ headquarters is at Yokota Air Base, about 30 km west of central Tokyo.
The U.S. military installations in Japan and their managing branches are:
- Kadena Air Base—Okinawa Prefecture
- Kadena Ammunition Storage Area (smaller portion of this area is also Marine Corps)—Okinawa Prefecture
- Misawa Air Base—Aomori Prefecture
- Yokota Air Base—Fussa, Tokyo
- Okuma Rest Center—Okinawa Prefecture
- Yaedake Communication Site—Okinawa Prefecture
- Camp Shields (Camp split between AF and Navy)
- Senaha Communication Station—Okinawa Prefecture
- Fort Buckner (Torii Communication Station)—Okinawa Prefecture
- Camp Zama-Kastner AAF—Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture
- Gesaji Communication Site—Okinawa Prefecture
- Army POL Depots—Okinawa Prefecture
- White Beach Area (portion of White Beach also Navy)—Okinawa Prefecture
- Naha Port—Okinawa Prefecture
- Camp Smedley D. Butler—Okinawa, Yamaguchi Prefecture (Although these camps are dispersed throughout Okinawa and Japan they are all under the heading of Camp Smedley D. Butler):
- *Camp Courtney
- *Camp Kinser (Makiminato Service Area)
- *Marine Corps Air Station Futenma — support services only, Futenma has a separate operational chain of command
- *Camp Hansen (Central Training Area)
- *Camp Schwab
- *Camp Shields
- *Jungle Warfare Training Center (formerly the Northern Training Area)
- *Gimbaru Training Area (Camp Gonsalves)
- *Kin Blue Beach Training Area
- *Kin Red Beach Training Area
- *NSGA Hanza
- *Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni
- *Camp Fuji—Honshu Island
- *Camp McTureous
- *Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield
- *Higashionna (Kadena) Ammunition Storage Point II
- *Henoko Ordnance Ammunition Depot
- Tengan Pier
- Ie Jima Auxiliary Air Field—Okinawa Prefecture
- Tsuken Jima Training Area
- Kadena Ammunition Storage Area (larger portion of this area is also Air Force)
- Camp Foster (also known as Camp Zukeran)—Okinawa Prefecture
- Camp Lester (also known as Camp Kuwae)—Okinawa Prefecture
- NAF Atsugi—Ayase, Kanagawa Prefecture
- Sasebo Naval Base—Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture
- Yokosuka Naval Base—Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture
- Camp Shields—Okinawa Prefecture (Camp split between AF and Navy)
- White Beach Area (portion of White Beach also Army)—Okinawa Prefecture
- Awase Communication Station—Okinawa Prefecture
- Sobe Communication Site—Okinawa Prefecture
- Camp Hansen (small portion in central area of Camp Hansen)—Okinawa Prefecture
- Ukibaru Jima—Okinawa Prefecture
- Kadena Air Base (small areas outside of the base that are supported by Kadena—these areas are located on the southern portion of Okinawa)—Okinawa Prefecture
- Jungle Warfare Training Center (formerly known as Northern Training Area—four thin elongated areas embedded and distributed evenly within JWTC)—Okinawa Prefecture
Former U.S. Forces facilities in Japan
The United States has returned many facilities to Japanese control. Some are military bases of the JSDF; others have become civilian airports or government offices; many are factories, office buildings or resential developments in the private sector; still others are vacant or awaiting development. Due to the Special Actions Committee on Okinawa [SACO], more land in Okinawa is in the process of being returned. These areas include--Camp Kuwae [also known as Camp Lester], MCAS Futenma, areas within Camp Zukeran [also known as Camp Foster], about 9,900 acres of the Northern Training Area, Aha Training Area, Gimbaru Training Area (also known as Camp Gonsalves), Sobe Communications Site, Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield, Senaha Communications Station, small portion of the Makiminato Service Area (also known as Camp Kinser), and Naha Port.Army:
- RYCOM
- Camp Drake (Asaka)
- Sagami Ono
- Camp Chickamauga (Beppu)
- Camp Fuchinobe
- Camp Gifu
- Camp Kokura
- Camp Mower (Sasebo)
- Camp Nara
- Camp Sendai
- Camp Wood (Kumamoto)
- Hamby AAF
- Grant Heights
- Washington Heights
- Honmoku
- Kishine
- Ashiya
- Brady Air Base
- Chitose Air Base
- Haneda Air Base
- Itami Air Base
- Itazuke Air Base
- Johnson Air Base
- Naha Air Base
- Showa Air Station
- Tachikawa Air Base
- Wakkanai
- Makiminato Housing Area
Misconduct
There has been a series of high-profile incidents of misconduct by U.S. Forces facilities in Japan. In 1995, for example, the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen stationed on Okinawa led to popular demands for the removal of all US military bases in Japan.Other controversial incidents reported in The Okinawan Times include helicopter crashes, murders, rapes, arson attacks, hit-and-run incidents, shooting incidents and the detonation of a tear gas grenade in a disco.
See also
- United States Forces Korea (USFK)
External links
- [United States Forces Japan]
- [U.S. Naval Forces Japan]
- [U.S. Forces, Japan] (GlobalSecurity.org)
- [Overseas Presence: Issues Involved in Reducing the Impact of the U.S. Military Presence on Okinawa], GAO, March 1998
- [U.S. Military Issues in Okinawa]
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