The construction site for a U.S. military base off the Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture (Shinosuke Ito)
Japan Times: Japanese government starts building sea wall for new U.S. base in Okinawa's Henoko
NAHA, OKINAWA PREF. - The government began constructing a new sea wall Monday in Okinawa as part of a controversial plan to relocate a U.S. military base within the prefecture, the local defense bureau has said.
The move is expected to draw fresh backlash from the Okinawa Prefectural Government, which has persistently opposed the Japan-U.S. plan to move U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from the crowded residential area of Ginowan to the less populated coastal zone of Henoko in Nago.
Under the plan, some 157 hectares of land will be reclaimed to construct a V-shaped runway.
The sea wall, which will be 135 meters long and located on one side of the planned landfill site, is the eighth area in which the central government has started construction work.
The move came after a meeting of experts assessing the environmental impact of the base relocation concluded last Tuesday that the fresh work would not affect corals inhabiting the area.
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WNU Editor: This new base is going to be very expensive .... Okinawa says new base to cost 10 times what Tokyo estimated (Asahi Shimbun).
