TOKYO – A majority of voters in a referendum on Okinawa opposed a plan to relocate a U.S. military base within the southern Japanese island, but the central government said on Monday it intended to press ahead with its construction plans.
Just over 70 percent of voters opposed relocating the U.S. Marines’ Futenma air base within Okinawa in Sunday’s non-binding referendum, with a turnout of 53 percent. Okinawa governor Denny Tamaki was elected on that platform in September.
Okinawa is host to the bulk of U.S. military forces in Japan, whose alliance with Washington is central to its security. Many Okinawa residents associate the bases with crime, pollution and accidents.
The governor is required to respect the outcome and notify the premier and the U.S. president if the top response was backed by more than 25 percent of eligible voters.
Tokyo’s central government and Okinawa authorities have long been at loggerheads over the plan to move the air base.
A U.S.-Japan agreement calls for moving the base, which is surrounded by schools, hospitals and shops, to a less populated area, called Henoko, on the northern part of Okinawa. (Reuters)
