Okinawa Governor's Visit to Washington DC: Our Analysis

from Okinawa Environmental Justice Project
February 15, 2017

Okinawa Governor's Visit to Washington DC: Our Analysis
From January 30 to February 5, Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga, accompanied by a delegation of “All-Okinawa Kaigi (conference),” visited Washington D.C. It was his third visit to the center of U.S. power since he took over the office of Governor in November 2014.

Just like in his previous visits, the purpose of his visit this time was to ask those on Capitol Hill to cancel the plan to relocate the U.S. Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City to Henoko and Oura Bay in Nago City. Throughout his visit, he emphasized that the people of Okinawa continue to oppose the construction a new base there (the Henoko plan) and that he would use all his administrative power and means to stop the construction.

How did Governor Onaga’s visit go? What would Governor Onaga and the people of Okinawa do next? Here are our reviews and analysis.

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Japan to start offshore work at planned new Okinawa airbase

Kyodo
Feb 1, 2017

FUTENMA, OKINAWA PREF. – The government plans to start maritime construction work as early as next week at the planned relocation site for a key U.S. airbase in Okinawa, a government source said Tuesday.

The move, which is likely to trigger further local opposition, comes after the government’s resumption in late December of land construction work at U.S. Marines Corps Camp Schwab located adjacent to the relocation site.

The maritime work is part of the central government’s plan to relocate the operations of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from densely populated Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area in Nago, farther north on Okinawa Island.

Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga has vowed to stop the plan, reflecting the calls of many Okinawa residents who want the Futenma base to be moved outside the prefecture. Okinawa hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan.

The planned maritime construction work involves placing more than 200 concrete blocks weighing around 10 tons each undersea to hold screens used to prevent the spread of debris and sediment.

The government plans to soon dispatch ships carrying the concrete blocks as well as vessels to conduct undersea surveys, the source said.

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