Japan Govt Expands Henoko Landfill Work for U.S. Base Construction

Naha, Okinawa Pref., March 25 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government expanded landfill work at a planned U.S. base site in the Henoko coastal area in Okinawa Prefecture on Monday, in defiance of the prefecture's overwhelming vote against the base construction project in last month's referendum. The Defense Ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau notified the prefectural government in the morning before it started the placement of soil in a new section off the Henoko coast in the city of Nago. The move came after over 70 pct of the votes cast in the Feb. 24 prefectural referendum opposed the construction of a new U.S. base in Henoko to transfer the functions of the Marine Corps' Futenma air base in a heavily populated area in the city of Ginowan, also Okinawa. "In this democratic nation, the central government should stop the construction work and proceed with talks (with the prefecture side)," based on the referendum result, Kiichiro Jahana, vice governor of Okinawa, told reporters. "We will firmly assert the prefecture's claims" in a related lawsuit it filed against the state on Friday, Jahana stressed. In the lawsuit, the Okinawa side claims that land minister Keiichi Ishii's recent decision to suspend the prefecture's cancellation of its earlier approval for the landfill work was illegal. At a press conference in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the central government will "go ahead with the base construction work while giving due consideration to the natural environment and local residents' living conditions, as well as continuing efforts to gain support and cooperation from local communities." In December, the central government started soil placement in a 6.3-hectare initial section in Henoko. The new landfill section, totaling 33 hectares, is located southwest of the initial section. The government plans to finish landfill work in the new section by the end of August 2020. Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe twice after the referendum and urged the central government to halt the landfill work and accept talks with the prefecture. They remained apart, however. At a House of Councillors committee meeting on Monday, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya underscored the significance of maintaining the Futenma base's current functions within Okinawa while realizing the full closure of the base to remove its danger to local residents. "In light of the current security environment surrounding Japan, we can't tolerate a weakening of our deterrence in the southwest region," Iwaya stressed. Meanwhile, in response to a question from an opposition lawmaker, Abe said he has never visited Henoko but has been kept updated on the local situation. END