New Nago mayor to send residents’ vote of opposition to base construction to prime minister

Japan Press Weekly

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New Nago mayor to send residents’ vote of opposition to base construction to prime minister

The new mayor of Okinawa’s Nago City Inamine Susumu said he wants to meet the prime minister and express his intent to realize his election promise to block the construction of a new U.S. base in Nago’s Henoko district.

At a press conference on January 25, the day after the mayoral election, Inamine said, “I’d like to cooperate with the city assembly and adopt a resolution in opposition to the construction plan, then send it to the prefectural and national governments in order to show the residents’ determination. I’d also like to meet Prime Minister Hatoyama.”

Stressing that his election campaign was supposed by a wide range of people, Inamine said, “We were able to conduct the election campaign with support from volunteers, residents, various organizations, political parties, and labor unions. Their combined strong opposition to the base construction has achieved the favorable election result. I’d like to thank them all for their efforts.”

“The dangerous characteristics of the Futenma base must be eradicated immediately, but it is unreasonable to ‘relocate’ the base to Henoko or find a place to build an alternative facility within Okinawa, which already hosts too many U.S. bases,” he said.

Concerning the future city development, Inamine said, “Residents have understood that temporary city promotion measures depending on a military base do not improve their living conditions. I will promote sustainable economic development by making use of Nago’s natural environment and location.”

- Akahata, January 26, 2010