Okinawa base debate ignores the bigger picture
Like many construction projects supported by the public sector, the new U.S. Marine Corps air base being built in the Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, has seen its budget skyrocket since it was first proposed and its completion date postponed. When the project ...
Who benefits from the Henoko delay?
Most people in Okinawa Prefecture in fact do not truly desire a solution to the so-called Okinawa problem.
The government needs to assess whether the Futenma replacement project — with the substantial delays, cost overruns and local opposition — is still a viable project.
Work on U.S. base at Henoko in Okinawa to cost nearly triple initial estimate
Building the replacement facility is now expected to cost ¥930 billion, far exceeding its initial ¥350 billion estimate, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
Land reclamation for U.S. base at Henoko in Okinawa to take five years longer
The government has concluded that the period for landfill work must be extended to about 10 years from the initially planned five years for a project to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, informed sources said Monday. The expected extension ...
Henoko dispute between Okinawa and Japan's central government seen further intensifying
While Saturday marked the first anniversary of the start of landfill work Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki blasted the Abe administration’s “illegal” landfill work, calling it “an act of trampling on democracy.”
Okinawa protesters mark a year since landfill work began for Futenma relocation plan
A protest took place in Okinawan waters Saturday near the planned new home of a contentious U.S. airbase in the prefecture, marking a year since full-blown landfill work began. "We'll never give up, let's keep going," the protesters yelled in chorus while paddling some 30 ...
With a population under a dozen, Okinawa dugongs labeled 'critically endangered' by IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has updated its Red List of Threatened Species, moving the dugong that dwell in waters off Okinawa Prefecture to the critically endangered category and putting it a step away from extinction. The organization warned that the number of ...
Former PM Hatoyama regrets reneging on pledge to move Futenma airbase out of Okinawa
Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama says it was a "big mistake" to abandon his pledge to move U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma out of Okinawa. Hatoyama became prime minister in September 2009, after the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan scored a landslide victory in ...
The Okinawa Prefectural Government on Wednesday filed another lawsuit against the central government as it seeks to halt the ongoing landfill work for the relocation of a U.S. air base within the prefecture. In the lawsuit filed with the Naha branch of the Fukuoka High ...
Okinawa to sue Japanese government again over Futenma base landfill work
The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly approved on Thursday a bill to launch an appeal against the central government over landfill work needed for the relocation of a U.S. base in the prefecture. The suit will call for the reversal of land minister Keiichi Ishii's decision to ...
Japan takes step to accelerate landfill work at planned Henoko base site
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki on Wednesday urged the central government to immediately stop landfill work as part of land reclamation at a planned U.S. base site in the Henoko coastal area of Okinawa Prefecture, after it took a step to accelerate the work the ...
