NAHA (Kyodo) — Work began Friday to dump landfill into Okinawa’s Oura Bay, a critical step in relocating a U.S. military air base from a crowded residential district in the city of Ginowan to a less populated coastal area within the southern prefecture.
Despite strong local opposition, the Japanese government is pushing ahead with the relocation plan for the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, agreed with the United States in 1996.
The Defense Ministry has already built seawalls and reinforced the seabed, but full-fledged landfill work has begun for the first time.
Many Okinawa residents have long hoped for the Futenma base to be moved outside the prefecture, home to the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan. They cite excessive noise, pollution and a series of high-profile crimes involving American service members as reasons for their opposition.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi arrives at the prime minister’s office to attend a Cabinet meeting, Nov. 28, 2025. (Mainichi/Akihiro Hirata)
The central government argues the relocation is “the only solution” to removing the dangers posed by the Futenma base without undermining the perceived deterrence of the Japan-U.S. security alliance.
At a press conference on Friday, Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki reiterated his call for the national government to abandon the relocation plan, saying, “It is important to seek a solution through dialogue.”
On the same day, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said in Tokyo, “We have to avoid the Futenma base, viewed as among the most dangerous in the world, staying permanently in its current location. We will proceed with construction while explaining the project to local residents.”
The work involves dumping landfill into the bay east of the Henoko area in Nago, which the Japanese government selected in 1999 as the relocation site. The location contains large areas of soft-bottomed seabed.
AloJapan.com