The government on Friday pushed ahead with full-fledged land reclamation work needed to move a key U. S. air base to Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, despite stiff
NAHA – The government on Friday pushed ahead with full-fledged land reclamation work needed to move a key U. S. air base to Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, despite stiff local resistance and legal wrangling.
The pouring of soil and sand began before noon in Nago’s Henoko district, where the replacement facility for U. S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is to be built, marking a new and significant phase in the relocation process. The unpopular base is currently in a crowded residential area of Ginowan.
The relocation plan originated from an agreement reached between the Japanese and U. S. governments in 1996 after public anger was fueled by the 1995 gang rape of an Okinawa girl by three American servicemen.
