National May 15, 2020
Okinawa marks 48th anniversary of reversion as pandemic cancels protests
Anti-base activists cancel their annual protests but vow to continue their battle against the Futenma relocation plan with the central government.
National / Media | MEDIA MIX Jan 25, 2020
Okinawa base debate ignores the bigger picture
by Philip Brasor
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 ...
Commentary / Japan Jan 17, 2020
Who benefits from the Henoko delay?
by Robert D. Eldridge
Most people in Okinawa Prefecture in fact do not truly desire a solution to the so-called Okinawa problem.
Editorials Dec 29, 2019
The government needs to assess whether the Futenma replacement project — with the substantial delays, cost overruns and local opposition — is still a viable project.
National Dec 26, 2019
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.
National Dec 23, 2019
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 ...
National / Politics Dec 15, 2019
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.”
National Dec 14, 2019
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 ...
National / Science & Health Dec 12, 2019
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 ...
National / Politics Sep 5, 2019
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 ...
National / Crime & Legal Jul 17, 2019
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 ...
Commentary / Japan May 7, 2019
Younger Okinawans' view of U.S. bases isn't black and white
by Charles E. Morrison
Widespread opposition to the base-relocation project off on the Henoko coast doesn't translate into a desire to eject the U.S. military presence in Okinawa as a whole.