 A majority of Okinawans want closure of U.S. Marines base Okinawans as well as citizens of Ginowan City were horrified by the crash of a U.S. Marines' CH-53D transport helicopter at Okinawa International University, which is adjacent to the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City. Realizing how dangerous the U.S. base is, an increasing number of Okinawans now say the Futenma base must go. A survey conducted on August 18 and 19 by the local daily Ryukyu Shimpo found that 35.7 percent of the respondents said the base must be closed down unconditionally while 30 percent wanted the base to be relocated to outside of the country. Only six percent said they support the government plan to relocate the Futenma base to the Henoko district of Nago City. In Nago, where the majority of voters in a referendum voted in opposition to the construction of a new U.S. base in the sea off the Henoko district, the government is determined to carry out a boring survey as a first concrete step toward constructing the base. The sea off the Henoko district is known for its beautiful emerald green waters, a vast coral reef, and rich beds of seaweed which is an important food for the dugong, a mammal designated as a natural monument. In the hearing held by Okinawa Prefecture, environmentalists and other related experts insisted that the planned boring survey should be cancelled because it cannot be carried out without destroying the coral reef. With the Okinawa prefectural government under Governor Inamine Keiichi consenting to allow the sea off Henoko to become the site of the new base, the central government planned to carry out the boring survey in April but was unable to do so due to residents' strong opposition and protests. The helicopter crash occurred while a stand-off continued over the boring survey. This incident immediately triggered a wave of protests in Okinawa's local assemblies. The Ginowan City Assembly adopted a resolution demanding an early return of the Futenma base site to the city and called for the Futenma relocation plan, which had been agreed upon by Japan and the United States, to be reviewed. Following the Ginowan action, 35 out of 52 local assemblies in Okinawa adopted similar resolutions. According to the Japan-U.S. plan, the size of the new base will be 2,500 meters by 730 meters. Contrary to the government claim, environmental destruction cannot be voided even at the phase of boring. Still, the government is trying to persuade Okinawans to accept the base boring survey, saying that the Futenma relocation to Henoko is the most realistic way to close down the Futenma base. (end) |