TOKYO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese central government on Monday began maritime reclamation work as part of a controversial move to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Air Station Futenma from a densely populated area of Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area in Nago City, both in Okinawa Prefecture.
The land reclamation work, which provisionally involves dropping concrete blocks into the sea off the coast of Henoko in Japan's southernmost prefecture, from vessels equipped with large cranes, began on Monday morning amid staunch protests from local citizens.
The preparatory work, which drew protests from more than 100 locals outside nearby U.S. Camp Schwab, also comes on the heels of a meeting between U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last week at which they agreed to continue as planned with the base relocation.
Mattis and Abe reiterated both countries' stance that relocating the Futenma base to Henoko remains "the only solution".
As more than 220 blocks, weighing 14 tons each, were being prepared Monday to form barriers in 4 areas in the sea where the Okinawa Defense Bureau will build seawalls around the site to be filled with sand and earth to prevent sediment spreading, Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga returned from the U.S. to protest the move on Sunday.
Onaga, a staunch opponent to the base's relocation who has fought doggedly to see the plan scrapped and the new base build outside Okinawa or Japan altogether and has sued and been counter-sued by the central government, will now likely rustle up further moves to block the project.
His trip to the U.S. was to convey local Okinawans opposition to the relocation plan to new U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump had previously intimated that the U.S. had been paying to much for its forces to be based in Japan and that the latter should share more of the financial burden.
Onaga, sources close to the matter said Monday, may now look to block the reclamation work by refusing to issue a permit necessary for coral reefs to be moved in the area in which land is being reclaimed from.
The Okinawa governor has floated numerous other ways he can block the central government's plans and protect the lives of Okinawans, including not approving any changes in the construction design of the new base, which involves a V-shaped runway being build on the reclaimed land.
The fact that the waters to reclaim for construction are home to the endangered dugong, a large marine mammal and cousin of the manatee, has also been mentioned as additional armament for Okinawan officials to use against the central government to block or impede the base-building plans.
The government's top spokesperson, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, however, said the government will do its best to protect local environment and livelihoods of the people living near the reconstruction site.
"Based on relevant law, the government will pay as much consideration as possible to the natural environment and the livelihoods of local people as we move forward with work to relocate the base to Henoko," Suga was quoted as saying on Monday.
Onaga has remained adamant throughout his campaign since he became governor in 2014, that the controversial Futenma base, described as one of the most dangerous in the world due to its proximity to residential buildings and infrastructure, should be relocated outside Okinawa altogether as the prefecture and its people are already burdened with hosting the majority of the U.S. bases in Japan.
The accompanying instances of noise, pollution and crimes related to U.S. base-linked personnel are also a heavy burden to the islanders, Onaga has maintained.
The central government, however, despite the protracted standoff with Onaga, local officials and citizens, has maintained its stance that the relocation plan remains the only way forward in line with a pact made with the U.S. under its broader security alliance.
The pact was made in 1996 with the promise of the return of the land of the Futenma base to Okinawa after anti-U.S. sentiment reached a fever pitch on the tiny sub-tropical island.
This was following the brutal rape of an elementary school girl by three U.S. servicemen in 1995, which saw hundreds of thousands take to the streets to protest the crime and the unfair burdens they have to endure hosting the U.S. bases, compared to the mainland.
Anger, hatred and fear was further fueled on the tiny island again more recently following a base-linked worker and former U.S. Marine raping and murdering a young Okinawan lady in May last year.
The islanders feel they have, to date, been "used" by the central government before, during and after Word War II, with protests further intensified following the crash-landing of an MV-22 Osprey aircraft off Nago in Okinawa in December, 2016.
The plane already has a long history of accidents and a seriously checkered safety record, with many lives lost since its operational phase.
The crash in Okinawa, the first since the aircraft has been stationed here, has stoked fears both on and off the island of more accidents in the future.
In light of all of this and with particular reference to the reclamation work, Onaga said the prefecture would "not allow the work to start until its consultations with central government were complete," local media said Monday.
The governor also said he regretted the fact that Mattis had agreed with Abe that Henoko is the only solution for the Futenma dilemma.
