Japan Press Weekly

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2012 January 11 - 17 [OKINAWA]

Nago assembly protests submission of EIA over base construction

Okinawa’s Nago City Assembly on January 13 adopted a resolution by majority vote in protest against the forcible submission of environmental impact assessments (EIA). Nine conservative assemblypersons voted against the resolution.

The EIA, for the construction of a U.S. new base in the Henoko district of Nago City, was submitted late last year by the Okinawa Defense Bureau in defiance of many municipal assemblies in Okinawa calling on the central government to end its insistence on submitting the EIA to the Okinawa prefectural government.

The resolution criticizes the submission as an “unprecedented outrageous act” because around 4:00 a.m. on December 28, defense officials suddenly appeared carrying boxes of the EIA into the prefectural office’s security guards’ room.

The EIA admits that health hazards may possibly occur due to the low-frequency sounds emitted with the planned deployment of MV22 Ospreys at the new base.

However, the EIA concludes it will not affect the natural environment. The resolution on this point states, “It is deceiving the public into believing that the construction is already approved.”

The resolution also states that this latest move “highlights the subordination of the Noda government towards the United States,” adding, “It is intolerable to ignore the demands of Okinawans as if they do not exist.”