Prime Minister Abe made a false claim about the landfill work for the construction of the new base in Henoko in a NHK TV show on January 6. He stated, “The coral in the landfill area is being relocated”, however the Okinawa Prefectural Government objected that the corals in “landfill zone 2-1” where the landfill soil and sand are currently being dumped have not been, nor being relocated. The facts are: (1) The corals that the Defense Bureau has relocated are only 9 colonies of Porites Okinawans, and (2) the relocated colonies were not from the zone 2-1. Abe tried to impress the people of Japan that the construction of the new military base pays a close attention to its environmental affects, which it does not. It is only a farce play. In the total area to be landfilled, approximately 74,000 coral colonies need to be relocated.
A Month After the Start of Dumping Soil and Sand
Since the start of dumping soil and sand on December 14 in the last year, the 14th of January marks a passage of one month. The grand total of soil and sand dumped into the sea during the period is approximately 7,000 truckloads. The zone 2-1 currently under dumping occupies 4% of the total area planned to be landfilled, or 0.7% of the total soil and sand required to complete the landfill. Shipping from the Pier in Awa to Henoko started on December 13, 2018, so that an average shipping per day was 475 truckloads.
