 Poll: 81% Okinawans are opposed to a new base A new poll shows that 81 percent of Okinawans are opposed to the government's plan to construct a new U.S. military base in the sea off the Henoko District of Nago City in order to relocate the U.S. Marines Corps Futenma Air Station from Ginowan City, while only ten percent support the plan. The survey jointly conducted on September 11 and 12 by the local daily Okinawa Times and Asahi Shimbun found that 71 percent of the respondents said that the best way to solve the Futemna base issue is to relocate the base to the United States. Only six percent answered that they are in favor of its relocation to Nago. The September 14 editorial of the Okinawa Times said that the relocation within Okinawa of the U.S. base would not help resolve any problems caused by U.S. military bases in Okinawa. Another survey conducted by the local daily Ryukyu Shimpo just after the crash of a U.S. military helicopter at a university campus near the Futenma base in Ginowan City in August showed that only six percent of respondents said they were in favor of the base relocation to Nago. These survey results are a fresh reminder that an overwhelming majority of Okinawans disagree with relocating U.S. bases within the prefecture, reported Akahata on September 15. (end) |