Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: Disputes over US Military Base in Okinawa

The existence of US military bases in Okinawa reaped pros and cons at the domestic and international level to relocate Marine Corps Air Station or MCAS Futenma from Ginowan city to Nago city in Henoko. The relocation of MCAS Futenma that has been agreed since 1996 by Japan and the United States was still not fully approved by Okinawa people. The Okinawa people do not want the military base to be relocated to Nago city, because they wanted the US military base to be completely removed from Okinawa. This research will analyze the policy of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in addressing the issue of relocation of US military base in Okinawa (MCAS Futenma). This research used theory of decision making process proposed by William D. Coplin. The results of this study indicated that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continue efforts to relocate the US military base in Okinawa, namely MCAS Futenma to Henoko by looking at various policy determinants. The factors that boost Shinzo Abe's policy were Japanese domestic factors, economic and military capabilities,including the international context.