The FRF in Henoko Will Be Aborted
Four Major Obstacles
The experts have pointed out that “the FRF construction in Henoko would be inevitably aborted”.
Abe Administration and Okinawa Defense Bureau have taken multiple illegal actions to proceed on the construction ignoring the Prefectural Ordinances of Okinawa. However, as the construction progresses, more attention will be paid on the serious obstacles the experts have pointed out. The initial construction budget was JPY24 billion, but the projected overall cost to completion estimated by Okinawa Prefectural Government is JPY255 billion which is more than 10 times over the budget. Furthermore, additional large amount of expenses will incur to clear the obstacles.
All expenses are funded by the tax that Japanese citizens pay. Destroying the precious sea and the living environment of the area residents, and wasting hard-earned tax money, where in the world can you find a country to commit itself to build within its borders a military base of a foreign country?
Four impending obstacles are as follows:
1. Soft Ground and Active Earthquake Fault
A little beyond the end of a planned runway, a barge equipped with a boring machine was anchored for a long time to conduct a survey because of an unexpected discovery of a soft ground (which was revealed as the result of a request for disclosure of information). Separate charts are presented: for a map to show the location of the soft ground and a diagram to show its cross section. The points of B26 and B28 in the map show the ground area that is extremely soft and spreads from the depth of 30m through 74m, which is approximately 40m in thickness. Its softness index is N=0. N being an index to show the ground firmness/softness, N=0 means that the ground is like sludge. Dr. Kamao, a civil engineering expert, describes “the ground like mayonnaise”. When a huge caisson (L52m x W20m x H24m) is laid to build a foundation for a runway, it will sink into the ground. A large scale ground improvement is required to prevent sinking. In addition, any change to the initial construction plan must be submitted to and approved by the Governor of Okinawa. Since Governor Tamaki vows that “all available means will be used to prevent the construction works”, the request for a change will not be approved.
Also as indicated in the map, the experts point out that there are two active faults in Oura Bay (Henoko Fault and Soku Fault). Okinawa Defense Bureau insists that “there is no active fault”; however, two references that the Bureau uses do show explicitly the existence of active faults.
Building a runway is not permitted in Japan, I believe, over an active earthquake fault. The FRF will have a facility to store ammunition. A common understanding is that the government’s duty is to protect the citizens from unlikely but possible danger of such facility. It is unforgivable for the Administration to complete the construction of the FRF.
