Our Report on Yambaru Forest and U.S. Military's Northern Training Area in World Heritage Watch Report 2026

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On June 8, 2026, World Heritage Watch (WHW), a Berlin-based NGO dedicated to protecting UNESCO World Heritage sites, released its highly anticipated World Heritage Watch Report 2026. Included among the 57 global reports is a critical assessment by Okinawan civil society titled "Japan’s Report Omits Discussion of the U.S. Military’s Training in Northern Okinawa." 


A view of the mountains of the NPOI from Yambaru Manabino Mori, an educational center. Between the NPOI and the center lies the NTA. 

This marks the fifth contribution by the four authors (see the end of the press release) to the WHW Report since the Northern Part of Okinawa Island (NPOI) was inscribed as part of a serial UNESCO World Natural Heritage site in 2021. Like the previous WHW Reports, the WHW Report 2026 was formally submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and its official advisory bodies, including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), on June 8, 2026.


New Evidence: Environmental Ministry’s Interim Report and Okinawa Defence Bureau’s Report on Aircraft Noise and Military Waste

The newly published report introduces fresh evidence challenging the Japanese government's environmental management of the NPOI and the Yambaru forest. Most notably, the authors reveal that the Ministry of the Environment’s Interim Draft Report on the World Heritage Site (2025) completely omits any discussion of U.S. military training and military waste.


Key findings and highlights from the report include:

Noise Data: The report contrasts the government's lack of discussion regarding military aircraft training with the Okinawa Defence Bureau's monitoring records, which document severe U.S. military aircraft noise in communities adjacent to the NPOI.


Military Waste Dumping and Border Enforcement: It highlights a 2019 incident where newly discarded military waste was discovered within the then-nominated World Heritage area. This discovery raised serious concerns regarding a lack of clear boundaries between the NPOI and the U.S. military's Northern Training Area (NTA), sparking speculation of intentional dumping by the U.S. military.

The Role of Environmental Defenders: It underscores how local protests against military operations in the Yambaru forest have actively preserved the biological integrity of the NPOI, demonstrating the vital importance of local environmental defenders.

A Call for Tangible Action

Local civil society groups have been actively engaged with the UNESCO WH Centre and IUCN since the inscription process began in 2017. These efforts have pressured Japanese and U.S. authorities into creating bilateral mechanisms—such as a 2016 conservation agreement, a 2019 designation of the U.S.-Japan Joint Committee’s Environmental Subcommittee as a conservation mechanism, and a subsequent 2023 agreement. However, these frameworks have failed to produce tangible results on the ground.

 

As the global WHW Report 2026 highlights major conservation success stories from the UK’s Stonehenge and Rio de Janeiro’s Sugarloaf Mountain, it is hoped that the Okinawa report will serve as a catalyst. The authors call on the Japanese government, the U.S. military, UNESCO, and IUCN to urgently adopt their recommendations and cooperate to make the NPOI a genuine, fully protected World Heritage Site.


About the Authors

This report was collaboratively authored by the following researchers and NGO members:

·       Hideki Yoshikawa (Okinawa Environmental Justice Project)

·       Masami Mel Kawamura (The Informed-Public Project)

·       Akino Miyagi (Independent lepidopterologist)

·       Shin-ichi Hanawa (Okinawa Environmental Network)




Note: This version includes corrections made to our report published in the World Heritage Watch Report 2026.


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