Airline

March 2006

Japan Eyes Talks With U.S. On Return Of Yokota Base Airspace
The Japanese government will propose a new round of talks aimed at having the U.S. hand over control of the airspace over Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun learned Sunday. By establishing a forum consisting of high-ranking officials from the two countries, Japan is paving the way for the future use of the U.S. base for both military and civilian purposes as well as the complete return of airspace rights. Yokota Base's airspace currently extends over nine prefectures -- from the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture in the west to Niigata Prefecture in the east -- at a maximum altitude of 7,000 meters. Civilian airplanes are allowed to fly in this area by gaining prior approval from the U.S.; but in reality, most planes avoid this airspace. Consequently, a number of civilian planes are forced to squeeze into a relatively narrow corridor, and at times this has caused near collisions. The greatest impact, however, is on regularly scheduled flights between Tokyo's Haneda Airport and the northern part of Kyushu island, south of Japan. If the airspace rights are returned, the number of flights on these routes can be increased. It is also estimated that flying time would be trimmed by about five minutes and tens of billions of yen would be saved annually on reduced fuel costs. The issue is also gaining momentum because when the expansions at Haneda Airport are completed in 2009, the number of flights departing to and from Tokyo will jump from 470 to 650. The proposal will be made at a Japan-U.S. meeting on the realignment of American forces in Japan scheduled for Tuesday in Hawaii. It will also be contained in a final report on the realignment, which is slated to be released as early as March. An interim report following an agreement between the two governments on the realignment issue last October noted that measures to facilitate flight paths of civilian planes in the airspace over Yokota Base would be explored. But the U.S. government has claimed the return of airspace rights would face operational difficulties, making such a move unlikely in the near term. (The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, March 6, 2006)