Start of Landfill Work to Be Put Off at Henoko U.S. Base Site

August 16, 2018

Tokyo- The Japanese government will postpone starting landfill work for a planned U.S. base site in the Henoko coastal area of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, from Friday until next week or later, informed sources said Wednesday.

The postponement is attributed mainly to Typhoon Rumbia, which is near the southern prefecture, according to the sources. Another key factor would be concern about the landfill work's implications for the Sept. 30 gubernatorial election there.

The poll was initially slated for November but was rescheduled following the death of Governor Takeshi Onaga from cancer last week. Onaga led opposition to the Henoko base construction.

Within the government, some even call for putting off the work until after the election, citing worries that starting it just before the poll could work against a candidate backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

But such a long postponement may be criticized as it would contradict the government's emphasis on the need to remove danger from the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air base in Ginowan as soon as possible by transferring its functions to the planned Henoko facility, observers said.

At a press conference Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga did not say whether the government will start the Henoko landfill work on Friday as currently scheduled.

"It's not decided at the moment, as we need to examine weather and other conditions before proceeding with the work," Suga said.

Meanwhile, the Okinawa prefectural government is getting calls for delaying the planned revocation of its permission for the Henoko land reclamation issued by Onaga's predecessor, because an early revocation could only make it easier for the central government to justify its landfill postponement. Jiji Press