Earth Report director Steve Couri, and assistant Emmeke Vierhout film protesters preparing for the Human Chain around Futenma on May 15.

FAQs

Why does the BBC need money to make the Earth Report program?

Funds from our appeal will pay for Futenma-Henoko Action Network’s share of the funding for the documentary. The BBC will receive no money from FHAN or our donors.  On the  other hand neither FHAN nor Television Trust for the Environment  (TVE), the non-profit organization which is co-producing the program, will receive money from the  BBC.

 

Isn’t that unfair?

We believe the answer to this question is ‘no’ for a number of reasons. One is that the global reach of BBC World, which is broadcast to over 200,000,000  households and over 1,000,000 hotels around the world, means that the channel  has a lot of power to change international public opinion, and in so doing  influence the course of decision making in Tokyo and Washington in such a way that those in power will  be forced to abandon the dangerous and destructive policies they  are currently  pursuing over this issue. The program also provides us with a fantastic opportunity to let millions of people around the world know about the Henoko issue, and the importance of saving the reef for future generations.  As co-producers of the documentary we will also have the rights to distribute the  program, which will be available in Japanese and English versions to  broadcasters, institutions and  individuals in Okinawa and Japan. This will enable us to raise even greater awareness of Okinawa’s  predicament at the hands of and US-Japanese policy makers.

How do I know my donation won’t be wasted?

As non-profit organisations, neither FHAN nor TVE can afford to waste money. In addition, filming in Okinawa will be the sole responsibility of Australian director/videographer Steve Couri, keeping travel expenses to a  minimum. FHAN members will also feed and accommodate Steve themselves while he is here, and provide as much support as we can in other ways to ensure that as much money as possible from donations goes directly into  making the most powerful  and effective documentary possible. TVE and FHAN will also make available to the public a detailed financial record of where funding for the documentary came from and how it was used.

This is all to do with politics, isn’t it?

We would like to answer this question with another question. Is doing nothing when faced with the potential tragedy of another helicopter crash, or the destruction of Okinawa’s environmental heritage, non-political? We think not. Instead, we believe the closure of  Futenma Air Station is essential for the  public  welfare of all Ginowan citizens, whatever their political beliefs: falling aircraft do not distinguish the politics of their victims. We also believe that protection of  the Henoko reef is in the long term interests of the entire population of Okinawa and Japan, and the environmental heritage of the planet.  Non of these interests are or should be party political.

 You claim that the Earth Report program is educational rather than political, but it’s obvious that your aim, to close Futenma and stop Henoko is political. This being the case, how can you say the program is educational?

While TVE and Earth Report are committed to making programs about environmental issues around the world in order to raise awareness and bring about change, these programs are subject to rigorous scrutiny from lawyers at the BBC  to ensure that they conform to the BBC’s standards of balance, and protect the corporation’s reputation for  fairness and impartiality. This being the case, we are sure that the program will be free from falsehoods, distortions or political sloganeering. We also believe, as people involved in education, that we have a fundamental responsibility to educate  people about environmental and public safety issues in Okinawa, and that this  program is the ideal vehicle for doing that.

In that case, might the program be so balanced that it will support the US-Japanese governments’ position as much as it does yours?

For us, the facts of the Futenma-Henoko issue speak for themselves. For this reason, we will be very happy to use the program to give US military officials a chance to make the strategically, environmentally and economically indefensible case for building the offshore base at Henoko. We will be equally happy to air the views of Japan’s ministry of the environment on why, for instance, the Japanese government is pressing ahead with a plan which will involve the extermination of a species it has designated a national treasure or imposes higher environmental impact assessment standards on developing countries than on Okinawa.

I have another question which isn’t answered on this page. What should I do?

Please e-mail us, and we will endeavor to answer your question directly and put it up on the website along with our response next time we update the site: fhan@myway.com