Japan Press Weekly

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2018 October 24 - 30 [POLITICS]

Ordinance bill to hold prefectural referendum over Henoko base project approved

A bill to hold a prefectural referendum over the construction of a U.S. base in Nago’s Henoko was passed and enacted by the majority vote of the Japanese Communist and other pro-governor political parties at a plenary session of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly on October 26. The referendum will probably be held next spring. The Liberal Democratic and Komei parties voted against the bill and another anti-governor political party Nippon Ishin no Kai walked out prior to the vote.

Following the enactment of the ordinance bill, Governor Tamaki Denny issued a comment, stating, “To call a public referendum carries significance as it enables each Okinawan to express his/her position on the Henoko landfill project to construct a new U.S. base.”

With his eyes set on some municipal governments which have not yet decided whether to cooperate with the prefectural government on the referendum, the governor said, “What is important is that the referendum will be conducted in every city, town, and village in the prefecture. So, I’ll continue to make efforts to obtain cooperation from all municipalities.”

Past related articles:
> Ordinance bill for referendum over Henoko base project submitted to Okinawa prefectural assembly [September 21, 2018]
> Okinawans petition prefectural gov’t to hold referendum on US base construction in Henoko [September 6, 2018]