14th Meeting of the Co-operative Working Team (CWT14)

August 31, 2006
CWT Secretariat
(OLO, MOFA)

Government of Japan, Okinawan officials and community leaders, and key US military and civilian leaders met Aug. 31 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) headquarters in Naha to convene the 14th meeting of the Cooperative Working Team (CWT).

The CWT is a Japan-US bilateral organization whose charter is to work together to prevent conflict and promote harmony between the US Forces and the Okinawan community. The summary of the CWT14 is as follows.

1. Report of the criminal statistics
Based on the criminal statistics for 2005, the Okinawa Prefectural Police (OPP) reported that the crime rate for 2005 is roughly equal to the crime rate for 2004. It also reported that the criminal statistics for the first seven months of 2006 shows a slight increase in criminal cases and persons arrested in comparison with the same period of 2005. CWT members confirmed that they would stay attentive and continue their efforts in order to maintain the downward trend observed in the statistics, which started in 2004.

2. Report of major preventive measures
(1) In order to improve transparency and to inform more people of our efforts to prevent off-base incidents/accidents, a comprehensive list of such efforts and other cooperative initiatives between the US Forces and the local communities was provided. The title of the paper is "Efforts by the US Forces and others to prevent off-base incidents/accidents and to obtain trust among Okinawan neighbors."

(2) The US military services explained the results and effectiveness of such major programs as the Air Force's Liberty Card policy, which was initiated at Kadena Base in last July.

3. Discussion of additional measures by Japanese participants
(1) An initiative was proposed by the Japanese side to install security cameras in Okinawa, citing their effectiveness at major night club streets in the mainland Japan. The proposal will be carefully examined, with consideration to the desires of local residents.

(2) A matter pending from the last CWT meeting concerned the proposal of holding a seminar for US service members to promote a deeper understanding of Okinawan history and culture. MOFA reported it would accelerate necessary preparations in order to hold the first seminar before the end of this year.

4. Others
The frequency of the future CWT meetings is changed from "twice a year in principle" to "once for the general meeting and once for the core-member* meeting a year, in principle." (core-member: OPG, OPP, OAFO and MOFA)