Japan Press Weekly

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2015 January 7 - 13 [POLITICS]

Gov’t transports base construction materials under cover of darkness

With the aim of resuming the preparatory work to construct a new U.S. military base in Okinawa, the Okinawa Defense Bureau transported construction materials onto U.S. Camp Schwab in Nago City, which is located in the construction site, under the cloak of darkness.

Around 8:30 a.m. on January 10, the first large trailer entered the camp premises. In the face of strong protests from local people, the defense bureau suspended the deliveries. About 8:30 p.m., after most sit-in protesters had left the camp gate, trucks filled with building materials began to enter the base.

The Okinawa Prefectural Police mobilized some 100 riot police officers to stop the protesters from coming back to the site. In the meantime, many concrete mixer vehicles passed through the gates of the base. The local residents present shouted out to the officials, “Shame on you!”

Okinawans living near the construction site have staged sit-down demonstrations day after day. Some 200 people took part in the action on January 12.

Kawaguchi Mayumi, a 39-year-old woman from Kyoto Prefecture, said, “I could not contain my anger when I saw a video on the Internet which showed the authorities were sneaking in the materials in the middle of the night. I’ll work to have more people around the country know about this situation.”

In August last year, the Abe government started a drilling survey in Nago’s Henoko coastal areas. Considering the mounting local opposition to the base construction project, the government put a halt to the work shortly before the general election in December.

Past related article:
> Okinawa Governor-elect goes to Henoko to encourage sit-in protesters [November 20, 2014]