The Public Sends Comments to Stop Henoko Base Construction

Public Comments
September 28 is the deadline for submitting your comments to the Okinawa Prefectural Government on the Okinawa Defense Bureau's application for change in construction design and work for the Futenma Replacement Facility (AKA Henoko new base) at Henoko-Oura Bay in northern Okinawa. As of September 24, the  Prefectural Government has received 4,000 submissions and it will receive more in the next few days. Most of the comments submitted so far urge Governor Denny Tamaki to disapprove of the Bureau's application and stop the construction project. 

Governor Denny Tamaki 
Image Source: Okinawa Prefectural Government

Why are many people submitting their comments?  What do they express in their comments? Can people in the international community submit comments and support the movement against Henoko base construction?  If so, how?  

Problems the Defense Bureau's Application 

The Okinawa Defense Bureau seeks new approval from Governor Tamaki because the Oura Bay side of the construction site requires major seafloor reinforcement work. The seafloor has been confirmed extremely fragile, just like mayonnaise, with the N value being zero.  The fragile seafloor requires unprecedented reinforcement work:  71,000 piles need to be implanted into the seafloor, some as deep as 90 meters below the surface.  

The fact that the Bureau needs new approval for this massive work, six years after the start of construction, points to the ill-conceived nature of the Henoko project and the dishonesty and manipulation that the bureau has employed in carrying out it so far.

The situation nonetheless provides the Okinawa Prefectural Government and the people of Okinawa with a significant opportunity to stop the Henoko base project.

There are many grounds on which people are asking Governor Denny Tamaki to disapprove of the Bureau's application.  Here are some examples. 

1. The overwhelming majority of Okinawa people have opposed the Henoko base project for the last 23 years. 

Okinawa already bears 70 percent of U.S. military bases in Japan while it consists of a mere 0.6 percent of Japan's landmass. (These existing bases in Okinawa were constructed on lands confiscated from people and the public after WWII.) The Henoko base project is another burden forced on Okinawa. The democratic voice of the people of Okinawa must be respected.
 
2. Though delayed with little progress, the construction of the Henoko base has impacted the environment of Henoko-Oura Bay. 

Despite the Japanese government's Environmental Impact Assessment's conclusion that there will be no adverse impacts from base construction, dugongs have been driven away from the area of Henoko-Oura Bay. Rare corals have been destroyed without effective mitigation measures.  The unprecedented seafloor reinforcement work will further destroy the environment.  

3. The lack of basic information and analysis in the application documents discredits the Bureau's claim that the seafloor reinforcement work will have no adverse impacts on the environment.

The application documents do not provide basic information and analysis.  For example, while the application documents indicate that the sand compaction pile method, sand drain method, and "paper drain" method will be used to solidify the seafloor, they do not provide how many piles will be implanted into the seafloor, how deep, and where. (As mentioned above, the Japanese Defense Ministry has previously acknowledged that 7,1000 pile will be implanted into the seafloor.) Without such basic information, proper environmental impact assessment cannot be made. 

4. The Bureau's failure to use appropriate criteria and incorporate critical information weakens the Bureau's claim that the Henoko base meets the structural and seismic safety requirements. 

For example, the Bureau used the level-one earthquake ground motion criteria to devise new designs and construction methods instead of the more stringent level-two earthquake motion required for regular major airports in Japan. Also, the Bureau did not analyze the presence of two active faults underneath the construction site. As a result, experts have argued, most seawalls supporting the base on the Oura Bay side would collapse when hit by an earthquake with a seismic intensity of 2 or more.  (From 2010 and 2020, the Henoko area experienced 16 earthquakes with a seismic intensity of 2 or more.)

5. The Henoko base construction project has already proved to be a fiasco and continues to be so.

Despite having faced so many problems, political, environmental, and technical, the Japanese government still insists that the Henoko project is the only solution for the problems imposed upon by the U.S. Marines Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City. In desperate need of saving face, it appears, the Japanese government is adhering to the Henoko project. Willingly or not, the U.S. government agrees that the Henoko project is the solution.  Meanwhile, with no clear picture of when and how the Henoko project will be complete, the Futenma problems continue. The whole situation undermines the credibility of the U.S. and Japanese governments in East Asia.

All Okinawa's flyer for "Submit your comments campaig

Can people in the international community submit comments to the Okinawa Prefectural Government?  If so, how?

Yes, anyone who can show he or she is a stakeholder can submit a comment to the Okinawa Prefectural Government via email at
umetateiken@pref.okinawa.lg.jp

You can use this Word Form to write and submit your comment. 

This form is created from the Okinawa Prefectural Government's submission form.

However, there is one big hurdle: your comment has to be in Japanese. Still, if you are willing to take extra steps, there is a way to submit your comment.

You can write your comment in your own language and use the Google's free translation service (or any other translation tools) to translate it into Japanese; paste both your original and Japanese versions in the Word Form; send the form to the Prefectural Government, noting that the one written in your own language is the original.

Google's free translation service does a fairly good job with short English sentences. In fact, it translates the words "Please disapprove the Okinawa Defense Bureau's Application" into a perfect Japanese sentence.

Three Other Points

There are three other points that need your attention. 

First, as you can see in the Word Form, you need to describe what makes you a stakeholder in the "Stakeholder Section." The criteria for stakeholders is rather flexible.  

For example, you could write:

I am a stakeholder because I am a U.S. citizen and what is being built at Henoko-Oura Bay is a U.S. base.

I am a stakeholder because, as a global citizen, I have been supporting Okinawa's struggle to protect the environment of Henoko-Oura Bay.

Second, please make sure to write in the Comment Section "Please Disapproves the Okinawa Defense Bureau's Application" and provide reasons why you ask Governor Tamaki to disapprove the application. You could refer to, as your reasons, some of the five points mentioned above. 

Finally, the deadline for comment submission is 17:15 September 28, Japan Time. I recommend that you submit your comment before September 28, Japan Time.

Let's Stop Henoko Base Construction!

Each one of your comments counts, and it provides the necessary support not only to Governer Tamaki but also to Okinawa's 23-year movement against the Henoko project. 

Governor Tamaki is expected to disapprove of the Bureau's application in the coming months.  Construction will be halted for a certain period of time, and the Japanese government will then attempt to resume construction work by using whatever it has at its disposal. Whether long or short, the stoppage of construction work will give those who oppose the project time to retool themselves to continue our fight to save Henoko-Oura Bay. 

Thank you for reading this article. And thank you in advance for sending your comments to the Okinawa Prefectural Government.

Hideki Yoshikawa

Director

Okinawa Environmental Justice Project