Misawa Base Bans Two Japanese Reporters

[Mulboyne]

[American Oyaji]

Sounds like this reporter pissed off the Japanese side and the American side is enforcing it.

For those that don't know, Misawa Air Base is shared with the USAF and the JASDF. They each have their own portion of the base, though the American portion is larger by a magnitude. They can complain about the ban all they want, it ain't gonna be lifted.

Also FYI, JAL uses the runway and has it's own gate to the flight line.

[Greji]

Sounds like this reporter pissed off the Japanese side and the American side is enforcing it.

Agreed. The paper wants to make a military issue out of this, but even in Japan reporters can and frequently are barred from certain government events (or more accurately, not included on the invitee list) for not following the stated rules that normally are clearly given before hand.

Remember the big flap when the White House allowed the free-lancer into a press conference? Turned out he had once been a gay prostie and the media themselves had a pissy over his invitation and tried to turn it into an anti-Bush thingy.

I think that they ought to carry that rule further and bar Marvin from any event that serves booze...

[canman]

Is such a small local newspaper here in Aomori. It only services the Aomori, Hirosaki areas. Hachinohe and Aomori are represented by another newpaper. But the Too Nippo plays to the politicians in Aomori, the local capital. And after the marine, Mr. Littlejohn was arrested for assaulting that girl, and then drunk driving, it has been a bigger issue in Aomori city, even though the event took place here in Hachinohe. I think so people are trying to make political hay out of this little incident. Also this coming weekend is American Day, and I'm waiting for the protests to get started. A few years ago the prefectural gov't made them cancel the day because of US families selling cakes and hamburgers off base. The local gov't was claiming that the profits had to be taxed and the money sent to the gov't. So they cancelled the whole thing. Which ended up being a pr nightmare, since so many people showed up expecting the festivities. So there have been some problems between the base and the local politicos.