Referrendom in Okinawa, against the U.S. Base

辺野古沖の美ら海が、在日米軍用新基地建設のため赤土で埋められていく。沖縄の人たちは止む無く2/24直接請求のための住民投票を実施した。投票者の72%弱が「反対」の意志を表示した。
The relocation site for US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Henoko, Okinawa, has been  controversial

これから埋め立て工事が始まる海には軟弱地盤のみならす活断層の存在が明らかになっている。このページに、後日のために掲載しておく。

3/5 辺野古、活断層の存在明確に 地層、隆起から専門家が判断

2019年3月5日 09:55
米軍普天間飛行場の移設に伴う名護市辺野古の新基地建設で、立石雅昭新潟大名誉教授(地質学)ら専門家十数人の調査団が1日から4日間、建設現場周辺の地質を調査した結果、活断層がある可能性が高いことが分かった。米軍キャンプ・シュワブを挟んで東側の大浦・安部地域と西側の辺野古・豊原地域の地層が異なっていることや地形の隆起状況から、両地域の境に活断層がある可能性が高いことも判明した。立石氏は「存在の証しを得られた」と述べており、活断層の存在が、より明確になった。

Japan PM says plan to expand US base will go ahead despite Okinawa residents voting overwhelmingly against


辺野古新基地の建設が予定される大浦湾のほぼ中央に位置する枝状ハマサンゴなどの群落地。埋め立てで壊滅的な被害が予想される=2014年8月 (c)朝日新聞社

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The relocation site for US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Henoko, Okinawa, has been  controversial
Telegraph紙より

25 FEBRUARY 2019 • 9:02AMFollow 

The Japanese government has vowed to push ahead with the expansion of a US military base in Okinawa despite more than 70 per cent of residents of the prefecture voting against the project in a referendum on Sunday.

Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, told reporters in Tokyo on Monday that while his government “sincerely” accepts the feelings of the people of Okinawa, moving US troops presently  at Futenma Air Station, in the central part of the prefecture, to the enlarged US base at Henoko “cannot be postponed any further”.

The project was first agreed by the Japanese and US governments more than 20 years ago and is designed to reduce noise pollution and the threat of accidents involving US military aircraft in the town that surrounds Futenma.

The local government supports the closure of the Futenma base, but insists that the US troops should not merely be moved elsewhere in the prefecture.

Denny Tamaki, the governor of the prefecture, has stated that the rest of Japan should share the burden of US bases and that the 24,000 US troops in Okinawa should be moved to mainland Japan. That sentiment is shared by 71.7 percent of those who voted on Sunday.

Over 70 per cent of Okinawa's residents voted against the plan
Over 70 per cent of Okinawa’s residents voted against the plan CREDIT: KYODO/VIA REUTERS

The result of the referendum has no binding power, although Mr Tamaki is calling on the national governments of Japan and the US to respect the wishes of local people. He plans to travel to Tokyo and Washington in the coming weeks and to call for new talks on the base.

That request is likely to be largely ignored and work to reclaim land off the town of Henoko, in the sparsely populated north-east of the prefecture, will continue. A number of retaining sea walls have already been constructed and work is under way to reclaim nearly 400 acres of land for new runways for the US Marine Corps.

Mr Abe said the current plan is “the only solution” to the dangers and inconvenience to local people caused by the US troops at Futenma.

“We have been holding dialogue with the the people of Okinawa for a long time and we intend to keep doing so to seek their understanding”, the prime minister said.

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