Japan Press Weekly

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2015 June 3 - 9 [POLITICS]

Latest poll shows 83% of Okinawans oppose construction of new US base in Henoko

An opinion poll jointly conducted on May 30 and 31 by local daily Ryukyu Shimpo and Okinawa Television shows that 83% of surveyed Okinawans are opposed to the construction of a new U.S. base in Okinawa.

This is the highest figure since the inauguration of the second Abe administration in late 2012.

As a solution to the U.S. Futenma base (located in Ginowan City) issue, 31.4% answered that the base “should be moved out of Japan”, 29.8% answered it “should be closed and removed unconditionally”, and 21.8% answered it “should be relocated from Okinawa to somewhere else in Japan”.

Currently, a third-party panel is examining the former Okinawa governor’s approval of the Henoko landfill work. The present governor, Onaga Takeshi, says he will withdraw the approval if the panel finds flaws in the approval procedure and recommends a revocation of the approval.

Regarding this policy, 52.4% responded it is “very favorable” and 24.8% responded “relatively favorable”, amounting to 77.2% of the total.

Those who answered all the work underway to build a new base “should stop” account for 71.6% of all respondents.

Governor Onaga, who is now vising the United States, commented, “I fully and truly understand Okinawans’ demand. That’s what has brought me here to Washington. It is my mission as a governor to explore ways to have our demand met.”

Past related articles:
> Okinawa Gov. demands dismissal of defense bureau’s request to continue with US base construction [April 23, 2015]
> Anti-base candidate’s victory in Okinawa governor race delivers blow to Abe [November 17 and 18, 2014]
> Abe gov’t committing political suicide by forcibly building new US military base [August 28, 2014]