A group of lawmakers from Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are endorsing a proposal to allow the military to use the Shimojishima airport in Okinawa Prefecture.
Currently, the only runways to support fighter and early warning aircraft are located on Okinawa island. Only Shimojishima airport further south has a runway of 3,000 meters. The rest of the runways on the other islands are less than 2,000 meters.
Shimojishima island is suitable for military flights to intercept Chinese aircraft heading towards Senkaku islands. The distance to Senkaku from Shimojishima is 200 km, and is 420km for F-15s to fly from Okinawa to Senkaku.
The military is forbidden to use Shimojishima airport due to an agreement with the United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands in 1946.