US House Armed Services Committee Petition To End Base Construction in Henoko, Okinawa

US House Armed Services Committee Petition To End Base Construction in Henoko, Okinawa

Sign this petition to tell the U.S. House Armed Services Committee to stop the new U.S. base construction in Henoko-Oura Bay of Okinawa.

A new U.S. military base is being constructed in the ocean of Oura Bay. This bay is in the Henoko region of Okinawa. It is one of the most bio-diverse ecosystems on the planet with over 5,300 species and world-renown coral reef systems. 262 of the species in Oura Bay are endangered, including the dugong, which have been closely monitored internationally by environmental groups due to its diminishing numbers as well as its status as a designated a cultural property of indigenous historical value.

The construction of this base has been opposed by the Okinawan people repeatedly. Most recently on February 24, 2019, over 70% of Okinawans voted in opposition to the construction of this particular U.S. Marine Corps base outside of Camp Schwab. Still, the Japanese government, in partnership with the U.S. government, continues building this U.S. base in the ocean – dropping concrete blocks on top of precious coral and suffocating the marine habitat with dirt and concrete – causing irreversible harm to the ecosystem. It is already adversely impacting the region; contributing to species collapse and furthering environmental damage already sustained from rapid climate change.

read more

Abe Government's Admission of Flaws in Henoko Base Construction Plan ・・・

Abe Government's Admission of Flaws in Henoko Base Construction Plan Challenges the Integrity of U.S. and International Institutions



Abe Government's Reluctant Admission

After a long silence, the Abe government finally admits that the construction of a U.S. military base at Henoko-Oura Bay in Okinawa requires significant changes to the original land reclamation plan (see Asahi Shimbun). Parts of the seafloor of the construction site have proven to be extremely fragile, or mayonnaise-like condition. To solidify the seafloor to support a functional airport, a "sand compaction pile method" needs to be carried out (see this video for sand compaction pile method). That is, casing piles will be driven into the seafloor as deep as 60 meters (or 90 meters below the water surface) and the piles will be filled from the top with sand and other compacting materials. Then, the piles are removed slowly leaving the compacting materials in the form of a pillar thus solidifying the seafloor. With this procedure, 76,000 sand pillars will be placed in the seafloor (see Ryukyu Shimpo).

read more…

Message from Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases

Stop the Construction of U.S. Military Base in Henoko!

The Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases supports the democratic will of the Okinawan people and opposes U.S. military base construction at Henoko.
Memory of the death and destruction of the Battle of Okinawa is deep and still present today, as the Japanese central government, in cooperation with the Pentagon, attempts to build yet another U.S. airstrip, one which would destroy pristine Oura Bay in Henoko, despite opposition from some 80 percent of the Okinawan people and their governor, Denny Tamaki.
Ignoring the people’s will and international opposition, including from many U.S. military veterans, the Japanese government began pouring soil and sand into Oura Bay before noon on December 14 in Nago’s Henoko district. The U.S. Navy claims the construction is necessary to replace U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, often called “the most dangerous airbase in the world.” That hugely unpopular base, which the U.S. has been promising to shut down since 1996, is currently in the densely populated residential area of Ginowan.
The airstrip will endanger the people, despoil a pristine environment and destroy endangered sea life, including the last few dugong (a marine mammal related to the manatee), which, according to Okinawan mythology, “has divine status—a messenger of the sea gods,” says Hideki Yoshikawa, secretariat of the nongovernment organization Citizens’ Network for Biodiversity in Okinawa. “Today, however, there are only between three and 10 alive.” The peace movement on Okinawa is remarkably diverse, like nature itself, but it is united by a common philosophy: a belief in nuchi du takara: all life is precious.
The excuse that the base is needed for defense is a thin pretext. Satoko Oka Norimatsu, co-author of Resistant Islands: Okinawa Confronts Japan and the United States, wrote, “The people there know that the military only attracts violence and death, instead of peace and stability.” As Hiroji Yamashiro, the charismatic and popular leader of the anti-base movement, said to people gathering at Henoko, “The American military stole our land to build bases then they used these bases to wage wars around the world. If they build a new base here, they will use it to fight new wars [but] if we win here, we can send a message of peace around the world.”
This is a crisis of democracy, as the U.S. military and the right-wing Japanese government under Shinzó Abe are trampling on the democratic will of the people of Okinawa in order to build yet another base. Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki said, “I cannot help feeling strong resentment toward the work being carried out in defiance of the prefectural residents’ will.”
The Okinawan people and their prefectural government have done everything they can to prevent the base in Henoko being built as a replacement—and will continue their efforts to stop it if it begins. The vigil at the gate has continued for more than 5,000 days and the actual sit-in blocking construction vehicles, which has been joined by many internationals, has gone on more than 1,000.
The people of Okinawa have experienced 73 years of occupation, the taking of precious farming land, and now some 30 U.S. military facilities and 25,000 military personel on this small island. They are fed up with the pollution, noise, violent crime and accidents caused by the U.S. military and do not want any new bases built in the prefecture.
We call upon all people-loving people to join the people of Okinawa in opposing the construction of the U.S. Military Base in Henoko. We urge you to sign the people’s petition to the White House demanding that the construction be stopped until a democratic referendum can be held in Okinawa.

To sign the petition please CLICK HERE.

Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases

Call for the campaign: Stand with Democracy by Standing With the Okinawan People

photo:HOA (Hawai`i Okinawa Alliance)

Hawai`i State & City Reps: Stand with Democracy by Standing With the Okinawan People

Okinawa was illegally overthrown by Japan and continues to discriminated against by Japan & the USA- the only nations to ever invade this formerly sovereign nation of Ryukyu. Nearly 1/5 of tiny Okinawa has been forced to host almost 3/4s of US armed forces, despite comprising only .6% of Japanʻs entire land mass. The vast majority of Okinawans (averaging over 80% according to years of polls, referendums & elections) want some demilitarization after 70 years of occupation since WWII, which brutally killed over 1/4 of the native people caught between Japan & US empires nurturing an anti-war culture having experienced the horrors of war, and constant social, political & ecological violations from the concentration of bases.

read more and campaign site is here

A banner reached Henoko from children of the nursery school

February 9,a banner reached Henoko from children of the nursery school


Children of "Budo no ki hoikuen"visited Henoko last September.
(Budo no ki means grape tree)
At that time they heard that the base construction will be brake the Dugong's sea by Hiroshi Ashitomi and the elders in the community.

Hearing the beginning of destruction of the sea,they draw the banners with the wish to protect the dugong and the coral.


Each handprint presents the precious coral.
Voice of children "Don't break them" cut us to the heart.

For the future with Dugong,let's do that we can do it.