Seeking to ease opposition to U.S. military bases in Okinawa, the Cabinet submitted a bill to the Diet on Friday designed to stimulate Okinawa's economy through various tax incentives.
The most talked-about measure would create a "free-trade zone," in which rates for three kinds of corporate taxes would be cut by about one-third for a decade after the establishment of a business. The bill would also provide tax advantages to new businesses in the information and communication industries, such as computer software developers, that operate in a specially designated zone.
In addition, the bill would give up to a 20 percent reduction on corporate taxes to firms in the tourism industry. The reduction would last five years. A minor free-trade zone that already exists in Okinawa would be expanded, and a system to reduce duties on imported raw materials would be introduced. Tax-free shops also would be established within airport terminals so tourists could buy imports at low prices.
The Cabinet decision came after the Liberal Democratic Party gave the bill the green light earlier this week. The ruling party effectively froze the bill last week as Okinawa Gov. Masahide Ota announced the prefecture's official opposition to a government plan to build a sea-based heliport for the U.S. military off Nago.
However, the LDP changed its stance immediately after the Nago mayoral election Sunday, when Tateo Kishimoto, backed by heliport proponents, emerged victorious. The heliport is planned to take over U.S. Marine Corps helicopter functions of Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, central Okinawa.