Japan has decided to pour soil and sand off the coast in Okinawa in mid-December for the relocation of a key U.S. military base's operations within the southern island prefecture, government sources said Wednesday.
With the decision by the Japanese government to begin full-fledged landfill work, the relocation plan that Okinawa has strongly opposed for about 20 years will likely enter a new phase.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki held a meeting in the afternoon but failed to find common ground on the plan to replace U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.