Okinawans set to vote on US military base relocation
Okinawans will vote in a local referendum on Sunday over the landfill construction of a US Marine Corps base in Henoko, a plan that has been at the centre of controversy since its announcement in 1996. The government's relocation plan has faced long-standing opposition from Okinawan residents, who say the landfill construction will devastate the marine life in the coral-rich bay of Henoko.
The prefecture of Okinawa, comprising Japan's southernmost islands that make up just 0.6 percent of Japanese territory, is currently host to more than 74 percent of US military bases in Japan.
The residents argue that the plan runs counter to the government's purported aim of "alleviating the burden" of US military bases on Okinawa, including noise pollution from military aircraft and the series of accidents and sexual assault of local residents by US military personnel.
"We're being forced to choose between Futenma and Henoko, without the option to say we simply don't want military bases," says Yukiko Chinen, whose six-year-old daughter attends Midorigaoka Nursery school near Futenma air station, where an object fell onto the school's roof from a US helicopter last year. US military aircraft have reportedly continued to fly over the school premises since the accident.
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