KYOTANGO, Kyoto -- The Kyogamisaki Communication Site, a U.S. Army base in the Tango district of this west Japan city has been operational since Dec. 26, 2014. Equipped with an X-band radar for detecting and tracking ballistic missiles, it is the only U.S. military base in the Kinki region. Mayor Yasushi Nakayama has consistently emphasized the importance of resident safety and security since the base's inception. However, the reality of the past decade raises questions about the fulfillment of this promise.

The decision to establish the Kyogamisaki Communication Site in Kyotango, Kyoto Prefecture, was made during a Japan-U.S. summit on Feb. 22, 2013. The sudden announcement sparked concerns among the citizens about the nature of the X-band radar, the potential risk of becoming a target for attack, and the number and type of personnel that would be stationed at the base.

To address these concerns, the Japanese Ministry of Defense held several meetings with the residents and made a number of assurances, including the implementation of "group living/commuting of military personnel and staff" to prevent traffic accidents.

The ministry explained that the base would house a maximum of 20 military personnel and 140 staff. The soldiers were to move into newly built barracks on the base, while the staff were to move into group residences during fiscal 2014. Locals were told that until then they would be living in hotels, but time passed as the location of the group residences remained undecided.

And, as citizens feared, traffic accidents involving U.S. military personnel became a frequent occurrence in the area once the base opened. The difference in traffic rules between the U.S. and Japan, coupled with the unfamiliarity of driving on frozen roads in the snowy Tango region, contributed to the problem.

In March 2015, it was revealed that about 30 base staff were living in privately contracted rental housing, contrary to the promise about their living and commuting arrangements. This revelation led to protests from local officials, who demanded that the Ministry of Defense fulfill its promises to Kyotango residents.

The military personnel eventually moved into the barracks on the base, and security-related staff moved into group residences in the city's Aminocho area. However, the residence for the radar operators has not yet been established, and it is believed that they are living in private apartments. The actual situation remains unclear.

In July 2024, the group living and commuting issue was raised by Deputy Mayor Kazuyoshi Nakanishi at a meeting of resident representatives, the U.S. base, the Ministry of Defense and local governments. The ministry did not provide specific answers about the living situation but indicated its intention to continue working on group commuting to reduce accident risks.

The frequent turnover of officials at the Kinki-Chubu Defense Bureau, who oversee the X-band radar base, has led to a lack of awareness about the original promise made at the time the base was set up. The city has raised the issue of group living/commuting at that meeting for the first time in a long time, likely due to questions at a June city council meeting about the decade-old and as yet unfulfilled commitments.

(Japanese original by Toshio Shioda, Maizuru Local Bureau)