As typhoon 25 may attack, sitting was canceled for a while starting tomorrow. Still today 20 participants gathered at the Gate-Mae before 9 a.m. and sit-in was conducted. “Since Okinawa Prefecture announced the withdrawal of landfill permit, the Okinawa Defense Agency should immediately remove the illegal iron fence of the Gate,” says Mr. Hiroji Yamashiro.
At 11 a.m. 20 people went to Okinawa National Highway Office to continue the negotiations about the iron fence. 14 people entered the office and negotiated with the road administrator. In spite that the protest continued nearly three hours, the appeal “Iron fences are illegal, and they should be removed immediately since the risk is at the highest when the typhoon comes”, was not heard by the administrator, who kept responding with ambiguous explanations to avoid the responsibilities. In the end, the question was raised “which office, National Highway Office or Defense Authority, is responsible if any accident occurs?” However, they ended up not answering.
In the afternoon, the surprising news came. Denney Tamaki, who won the Prefectural Governor’s Election, is visiting Gate-Mae-Tent. Nearly 50 people gathered up with the welcome placards. It became a lively gathering of cheers and laughter (See this video on Youtube). It was a rally that everyone had the gut-feeling that the current of the Henoko New Base Problem is changed dramatically.
