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Japan, Tokyo – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Feb. 25 that land reclamation work will continue for a new U.S. air station in Okinawa Prefecture despite a referendum showing 72 percent of islanders oppose the project.
The new base will be built off the Henoko district of Nago to take over the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma located in a crowded residential area in Ginowan, also in Okinawa Prefecture.
The return to Japan of the land where the Futunma air station is located, and the relocation of its functions, was agreed upon by Japan and the United States in the 1990s. However, Okinawa residents and politicians have demanded that the functions be moved outside of their prefecture, which is currently home to about 70 percent of U.S. military facilities in Japan.
In the Feb. 24 prefectural referendum, 72.15 percent of voters opposed the land reclamation work off Henoko, 19.10 percent supported the project and 8.75 percent had “no opinion either way.” The results of the vote are not legally binding.
Source and full English article: The Asahi Shimbun
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201902250039.html
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