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Tokyo preparing for protracted battle over Henoko project
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
November 26, 2021 at 16:15 JST
NAHA--The Okinawa prefectural government’s rejection of a change of plans in building a controversial U.S. military base is expected to trigger a series of familiar legal maneuvers to get shovels back in the ground.
But while the prefectural government had failed in its past legal attempts to stop the base-relocation project, officials close to Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki are showing greater confidence that they will come out on top this time.
“The defects in the central government’s plan are clear,” a prefectural official said. “There are just too many problems with the soft seabed.”
Land reclamation work off Henoko in Nago has been proceeding so the runway functions can be transferred there from U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in heavily populated Ginowan, also in Okinawa Prefecture.
However, the central government was forced to apply for a design change to deal with problematic unstable seabed, described to be as “soft as mayonnaise,” discovered on the site off the coast of Henoko.
But while the prefectural government had failed in its past legal attempts to stop the base-relocation project, officials close to Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki are showing greater confidence that they will come out on top this time.
“The defects in the central government’s plan are clear,” a prefectural official said. “There are just too many problems with the soft seabed.”
Land reclamation work off Henoko in Nago has been proceeding so the runway functions can be transferred there from U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in heavily populated Ginowan, also in Okinawa Prefecture.
However, the central government was forced to apply for a design change to deal with problematic unstable seabed, described to be as “soft as mayonnaise,” discovered on the site off the coast of Henoko.
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14489461