Japan Press Weekly

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2015 April 29 - May 12 [POLITICS]

Onaga to Defense Minister: Construction of new US base in Henoko is out of question

Okinawa Governor Onaga Takeshi reiterated Okinawa’s strong opposition to the construction of a new U.S. base in Henoko in a meeting with Defense Minister Nakatani Gen at the prefectural office building on May 9, saying, “To build a new base in Henoko is out of the question.”

Nakatani argued that Okinawa’s location is geopolitically important for the Japan-U.S. security strategy and that the relocation of the U.S. Futenma base to Henoko is the only solution from the viewpoint of maintaining deterrence.

The defense minister had refused to meet Onaga by saying that it would be meaningless. The governor pointed out that the minister’s refusal worsened the relations between Tokyo and Okinawa. He stressed that objection to the new base construction is Okinawan consensus as shown in the series of elections held last year and said, “I want the central government to become more flexible and decide to put a halt to the ongoing construction work at Henoko.”

In front of the prefectural office, many local citizens held a rally to support the governor.


Past related articles:
> Onaga requests PM to convey Okinawa’s opposition to new US base to Obama [April 18, 2015]
> Onaga restates opposition to Henoko base construction in talks with top gov’t spokesman [April 6, 2015]
> DefMin: No use meeting with Okinawa governor who opposes Henoko base construction [March 14 and 15, 2015]