Relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma
[1][2] The current proposal for a new site in Henoko Bay, Nago, has faced opposition from Okinawans and the local government who wish for the new base to be located off the island altogether.
[13][14] In December 1996, as part of the Defense Policy Review Initiative (DPRI), the Japanese and U.S. governments decided that the Futenma base should be relocated to an off-shore location in the Oura Bay of Henoko (Ourawan in Japanese and ʻUdaang in Okinawan; often called Henoko Bay), in Nago, a relatively less populated area of the northern part of the island, 'in order to reduce military impact to the populated communities of southern Okinawa'.
[15] This was and remains a controversial decision, since the projected site involved construction on a coral reef[16] and seagrass beds inhabited by the dugong,[17][18][19] an endangered marine mammal protected under Japanese law and U.S.
[20] The environmental impact extends beyond the coral reef and seagrass beds, with there expected to be waste dumping, the disruption of fisheries, and an overall decrease in biological diversity.
[21] In October 2015, The Japan Times mentioned that 'two members of a governmental panel monitoring the environmental impact of the Futenma base relocation within Okinawa Prefecture (had) admitted to accepting donations from contractors involved.
On 26 October 2005, the governments of the United States and Japan agreed to move the relocation site for Futenma from the reef area off Henoko to the interior and coastal portions of the existing Marine base at Camp Schwab, just a few hundred meters away from the previously-planned offshore facility.
[30] These plans were also accelerated when a CH-53D Sea Stallion transport helicopter experienced mechanical issues and crashed on the campus [ja] of Okinawa International University in August 2004: all three crew members were injured but there were no civilian injuries.
[31]The mayor of Nago, which hosts Camp Schwab, formally agreed to accept the relocation when he signed an agreement with Defense Minister Nukaga on 8 April 2006.
After winning the election, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama found the promise hard to honor and resigned after only eight months in office when it was confirmed that the base would not move off Okinawa.
As part of the original DPRI plan, Futenma's KC-130J 'Super Hercules' refueling transport squadron moved to MCAS Iwakuni on mainland Japan in July 2014.
[53] In December 2013, Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima approved a landfill proposal by the Japanese government to permit construction of new military facilities in Henoko, a move praised by the US.
[54] The decision came two days after Tokyo earmarked 348 billion yen for Okinawa's economic development and despite earlier campaign promises by Nakaima to move the base outside of the prefecture all together.
[59] Takeshi Onaga, running on an anti-base platform, won the November 2014 gubernatorial elections in Okinawa[60] promising to veto any landfill work needed for the new base to be built.
[61] In March 2015, Onaga ordered a suspension of work on the new base,[62] and in August 2015 the Japanese government agreed to halt construction activities temporarily while talks with Okinawan officials continued.
[3] The Japanese central government began work on 29 October 2015 to build the base in the Henoko coastal area of Nago, to replace the Futenma Air Station, despite strong opposition among Okinawans and political and legal action initiated by Governor Takeshi Onaga, who insisted the relocation was 'extremely unjust'.
"[71] In November 2015 a group of 'traditionally anti-base activist' citizens from Kansai called for Futenma's replacement airstrip to be built in Osaka, in "hope to lighten Okinawa’s base-hosting burden and prevent an escalation of violence.
[73] On 14 December 2018, landfill on a controversial new U.S. military runway that will one day facilitate the relocation and closure of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma began in Okinawa following years of protests and legal challenges.
Denny Tamaki showed his resolve to counter Tokyo's efforts to press ahead with a controversial U.S. military base relocation project in the prefecture.
