Okinawa to Proceed with Late Governor’s Move to Block U.S. Base Construction

August 10, 2018

Naha, Okinawa Pref.- The Okinawa prefectural government held a hearing with local Defense Ministry officials on Thursday over its plan, announced by the late Governor Takeshi Onaga, to revoke its permission for land reclamation for the construction of a U.S. military base in the Henoko coastal district in the city of Nago.

The hearing took place as scheduled, following the death on Wednesday of Onaga, who had led opposition to the plan to build a replacement facility in Henoko for the Marine Corps' Futenma air base in Ginowan, another city in the southern Japan prefecture.

Although the Okinawa Defense Bureau objected to the planned revocation and demanded the continuation of the hearing process, the prefectural government told the bureau that there would be no more hearing.

The revocation would force the central government to postpone the start of landfilling in Henoko, now planned for Aug. 17.

At a press conference on July 27, Onaga announced that the Okinawa government would start the process to revoke the landfill permission, issued by his predecessor, Hirokazu Nakaima.

According to Vice Governor Kiichiro Jahana, when he last met Onaga, on Saturday, the late governor expressed his eagerness to finish the revocation process.

The prefectural government believes that it is possible for Jahana, acting as governor, to take a decision to cancel the permission.

At a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga reiterated the government's position that the Henoko project is the "only solution" to eliminating danger from the Futenma base, located in a densely populated residential area. Jiji Press