The government continues to reclaim land off the coast of Okinawa Prefecture for the controversial relocation of a U.S. air station. 

The work is proceeding despite doubts about measures to protect a precious ecosystem and despite a deadlock in talks with the local administration.

The government’s approach of forcing the project through is simply unacceptable.

The Defense Ministry’s Okinawa Defense Bureau plans to begin full-scale work soon. This ground improvement work aims to enhance the physical properties of an extremely soft ocean floor in some places where land reclamation is taking place.

The work is part of a project to build a facility for U.S. troops. Located off the Henoko district of Nago, it will replace U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in the city of Ginowan in the same prefecture.

The project now needs 70,000 piles driven into the seabed to strengthen it.

The reclamation is under way in Oura Bay. The sea area around the bay has corals of global value in terms of biodiversity. More than 5,300 species, including about 260 endangered species, have been identified there.

More than half of the landfill at Oura Bay needs ground improvement work, which will significantly impact the ecosystem.

The question is how to reduce the ecological disruption. In February, the prefecture submitted 91 questions about the environmental impact to the Okinawa Defense Bureau. It asked about the potential damage to corals and where the landfill material will come from.

Although the bureau responded, the prefectural government considered some of the answers insufficient. It asked additional questions, keeping the talks going.

However, in June, the defense bureau unilaterally announced that full-scale construction work would begin on Aug. 1. It set this date despite the discussions being unresolved.

In July, the bureau started operations from a ship as “preparation for pile-driving tests.” The prefecture demanded that it hold off until the consultations were complete, but the bureau said no.

It replied that “preparatory work is not subject to consultations.”

The start of construction itself was delayed by the defense bureau because of a typhoon. However, we are deeply concerned about how the national government is pushing the project forward despite local anxieties. The central government has a duty to answer the prefecture’s questions.

In 2013, when then-Governor Hirokazu Nakaima approved the landfill plan, the central and local governments agreed on five points. These included that construction would involve consultation with the prefecture about environmental conservation and that the construction blueprint would be discussed in advance with the prefecture.

These are virtually prerequisites for construction. They amount to promising not to ignore local concerns. And the central government has emphasized its commitment to the agreements.

But the reality is different. The central government has proceeded with installing a sea yard to store materials in. It took this step after winning a proxy execution lawsuit last year, which allowed the state to carry out the work the prefectural administration had refused to approve.

Why does the government refuse to give adequate answers to the doubts and questions?

Okinawa has seen a string of sexual assaults committed by U.S. servicemen against residents.

The Diet is in recess, but on July 30, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa told an Upper House committee hearing that she had been unaware of how the national and local governments are notified of crimes and other incidents involving U.S. service members. 

The procedures were established in a 1997 agreement between the Japanese and U.S. governments.

Kamikawa’s remarks underscored the fact that the procedure for notifying local authorities when such incidents occur is effectively obsolete.

Forcibly proceeding with the construction work despite strong local concerns and opposition could deepen the rift with Okinawa, which bears the burden of the heavy U.S. military presence.

The relocation of the Futenma air station to Henoko is plagued with problems, including rising construction costs and technical difficulties.

Moreover, even if construction goes ahead as planned, no relocation can take place until the mid-2030s or even later.

We call on the government once again to abandon the idea that the Henoko relocation is the only solution and stop to rethink the entire project.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 1