US base row on Okinawa worsens as Tokyo refuses to bend

TOKYO: A row over a controversial US military base on the Japanese island chain of Okinawa worsened yesterday as Tokyo dug in its heels after the local governor ordered a halt to construction.

The central government insisted work was carrying on as usual at the sparsely populated coastal site chosen as the replacement for the Futenma Air Station, which sits in a crowded urban area.

“We do not believe there is any reason to stop the work at this point,” said top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga.

“The government will continue the drilling survey as planned, while paying full attention to the environment.”

The defence ministry in Okinawa has filed an appeal against the governor’s stoppage order, an official said.

Tokyo’s hardening stance came after anti-base governor Takeshi Onaga said Monday that coral just outside the target zone at the site on the island’s northeast coast had been damaged and said work had to stop.

The brouhaha is the latest development in a nearly twodecade row.

Around half of the 47,000 US servicemen stationed in Japan as part of a security treaty are based in Okinawa and the relocation of the base has become emblematic of local feelings that the island chain shoulders too much of the burden of hosting the American military.

The once-independent kingdom of Okinawa was annexed by Japan in the 19th century and was under US control from the end of World War II in 1945 until 1972. While most Japanese value the protection the US alliance gives them, especially in the context of Beijing’s growing regional assertiveness, a sizable proportion of Okinawans want a dramatic reduction in their numbers. — AFP