As attention begins to turn to an earlier-than-expected gubernatorial election in Okinawa Prefecture in the wake of Gov. Takeshi Onaga's untimely death, we must not lose sight of the more important vote at stake that is slowly and quietly working its way through the process.
That vote is a prefectural referendum on the relocation of the functions of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to the shores of Camp Schwab in northern Okinawa. It would be the first vote at the prefectural level specifically on the planned move to the Henoko area.
While it would be the first time for all voters in Okinawa to register their opinion on the relocation plan, there was a plebiscite almost 21 years ago in December 1997 for the residents of Nago, the municipality to receive the Futenma replacement facility, to express their feelings. There was also a prefecturewide referendum the year before, in September 1996, on a variety of questions concerning U.S. bases and their operations, but it did not concern the Futenma replacement facility specifically, in part because no official decision had been reached on the site of the relocation.