"GUN-TEN-HO" -- The Special Law Which Helped Transform Yokosuka After WW-II

旧軍港市転換法70年のあゆみ  (Yokosuka City Government Link)

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-- From "Military Port City" to "International Maritime Cultural City"

2020 marks the 70th anniversary of the enactment of the Former Military Port City Conversion Act (Military Conversion Act -- in Japanese: "Gun-Ten-Ho").

This law aims to make peaceful use of land and facilities that were used by the military during the war and remain in the four former military port cities (Yokosuka, Kure, Sasebo, and Maizuru).

Let's look back at the history of Yokosuka, which developed as a military port city, and how it has been reborn with the benefits of this Military Conversion Act.

-- Development as a naval port city

Our city, Yokosuka, has developed along with the sea since ancient times.

Especially during the Edo period, it became an important place for protecting the shogunate, and all ships coming in and out of Edo were checked over in Uraga.

Many ships loaded with goods from all over the country came into the port, and the city was bustling with merchant houses lining the streets.

It was around this time that the government began to focus on maritime security, building Odaiba (gun batteries) on Sarushima and Kannonzaki.

Furthermore, the shogunate, which opened the country to the outside world with the arrival of Commodore Perry, built the Yokosuka Ironworks (later a shipyard) to counter foreign ships.

After that, in the Meiji era, the naval base was moved from Yokohama, and the city developed into a naval port city, attracting more military facilities and people than we can imagine today.

-- The Military Transfer Law turned the city into a peaceful industrial port city

In 1945, with the end of the Pacific War, our city also ended its role as a military port city. The population dropped sharply from 350,000 to 200,000, and an economic crisis came. Some of the former military assets were occupied by the US military, and the remaining vast amounts of land were left abandoned. The same situation was faced by Kure City, Sasebo City, and Maizuru City, which had naval ports. Wanting to use the remaining assets for reconstruction, the four cities began a movement to establish a law.

Thanks to the people's wishes and efforts, the bill was submitted to the Diet as a member's bill and passed as a special law limited to the four cities. The only remaining step was to obtain the consent of the majority of the residents (Article 95 of the Constitution). In our city, 91.9%(※) of the residents voted in favor.

Thus, the Military Transfer Law went into effect in June 1950, five years after the end of the war.

(※) Number of votes in favor (88,644) / Number of valid votes (97,545).
Number of votes in favor (88,644) / Total number of votes (101,678) is 87%.

The Military Transfer Law provides various conveniences to the four cities so that they can use former military property for peaceful industries.

National property is usually sold at a fair price, but the four cities to which the Military Transfer Law applies can acquire it for free or at less than market value. They are also given priority for conversion.
In order to convert it, the land use plan must be approved by the National Property Disposal Council of Former Naval Port Cities, and the US military facilities must be returned to the country.

Through these procedures, the properties have been transformed into public facilities and industrial complexes, and have been used by many people.

We will continue to work as much as possible to return the US military bases and consolidate and integrate the SDF facilities, while keeping an eye on the international situation.