Photo/Illutration The planned relocation site for a U.S. military base in the Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, in December 2021 (Eiji Hori)

NAHA--Distrust among Okinawans toward the central government continues to remain high, as 68 percent of respondents in a new poll said their opinions of U.S. military bases in the southernmost prefecture are ignored.  

That is compared to the 29 percent who believe the central government listens to their opinions, according to a prefecture-wide survey jointly conducted by The Asahi Shimbun, The Okinawa Times and Ryukyu Asahi Broadcasting Corp.

The latest poll shows Okinawan residents continued opposition to the central government's efforts to push the relocation plan of a U.S. military base, which they voiced in a prefectural referendum in 2019. 

In a four-choice question, 6 percent of respondents said the central government “hears (their voices) enough,” 23 percent said it “hears some,” 39 percent said it “doesn’t hear much” and 29 percent said it “doesn’t at all.” 

Since the administration of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the central government has been working to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan to a new offshore base in the Henoko district of Nago, both in the prefecture.

In the 2019 prefectural referendum, about 70 percent of voters opposed the landfill work off the Henoko coast for the new base.

The residents may feel that their opinions are not being reflected.

The latest poll was conducted along with a survey on the prefectural gubernatorial election scheduled for Sept. 11.

Among respondents who support the Liberal Democratic Party, 50 percent said the central government listens to their opinions, while 48 percent said it doesn’t.

Regarding the Henoko relocation project, 26 percent of respondents were in favor, while 56 percent were opposed.

Even among those who support the project, 54 percent said the central government is listening to their opinions, while 41 percent said it is not.

When respondents were asked what is the most important issue in the upcoming gubernatorial election, 48 percent cited economic revitalization. That was higher than the 32 percent who chose issues related to the U.S. bases.

In polls conducted during past gubernatorial elections, the findings differed as far as what voters prioritized. 

In 2014, 45 percent of respondents selected the U.S. base issue, while 38 percent chose economic revitalization. In 2018, 42 percent opted for the U.S. base issue, while 35 percent chose economic revitalization.

The survey was conducted on Sept. 3 and 4 by contacting randomly selected telephone numbers by computer.

It received valid responses from 888 voters in Okinawa Prefecture, or 51 percent, of 1,726 households that had at least one eligible voter.

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