(In Front of the Gate)
The protest rally was participated by 50 people at the peak. The protestors were pulled out 3 times, which allowed the trucks to make some deliveries. Whenever a truck goes through the Gate, the protestors raised their voice and rallied in front of the Gate.
Deliveries of 136 truckloads were made.
(On the Sea in Oura Bay)
One boat and 8 canoes went out on the sea for protest rally. Firstly at 9:00 a.m., they went over the floats to stop the cargo ships, but all members were detained by the Coast Guard men and brought back to the beach. At K8 and K9 seawalls, the trucks (2 shovels per truck) received the earth and sand from the barges and carried them to the reclamation area. There were only a few barges on the sea maybe because of successful protest activities in Awa. The number of barges is definitely fewer recently. We are sure that the construction work is being delayed due to our protest activities.
Due to a bad weather, the rally in the afternoon was cancelled.
(Protest Rally in front of the Piers)
Protest rally in front of the Gate and GOGO Drive campaign together tried to stop delivery of earth and sand by dump trucks. GOGO Drive campaign members mixed themselves among the regular traffic drove so slowly that they successfully slowed down the trucks. As a result, deliveries were made sporadically. Deliveries continued until 6:00 p.m. in the evening, and 479 truckloads which is equivalent to the load of 2 cargo ships, were delivered.
In Shiokawa, the members of “Chubu Shima-Gurumi” rallied persistently to block the trucks, and successfully delayed loading by 2 hours.
In the morning, 171 truckloads of earth and sand were loaded to cargo ships.
(Other)
Because the Administration admitted the existence of a soft sea floor which Okinawa Defense Bureau has kept in the closet for 3 years, the new base construction has been greatly delayed, and it is clear now that it will take another 13 years before completion. As per the original plan, it was to be completed in 5 years. The soft sea floor that the Administration admitted its existence extends to the depth of 90m and requires unprecedented sea floor improvement work that the experts claims “almost impossible”. In addition, the sea floor improvement work requires tremendous volume of sand, but supplying sand from outside Okinawa Prefecture is impossible due to the weight limit and prohibition placed by the other prefectural governments on harvesting sea sand. The volume of sea sand required for the sea floor improvement is equivalent to 3-5 times of annual harvest made in Okinawa Prefecture. If the required volume is supplied solely from within Okinawa Prefecture, it will destroy the beaches of Okinawa. The sea floor improvement work alone has so many problems. Furthermore, any changes to the original plan must be submitted as a formal request for “Changes to the Plan” and approved by the Governor of Okinawa. It is not likely that Governor Tamaki Denny will approve it.
The experts of civil engineering agrees with estimate made by Okinawa Prefectural Government that it will take at least 13 years to complete the construction. Considering that the number of special type of ships needed for the sea floor improvement is not sufficient, they predict that it will take close to 20 years to complete the construction.
(The Time Required to Complete the New Base Construction as per the Estimate Made by Okinawa Prefecture)
5 years and more for the sea floor improvement in Oura Bay
5 years and more for reclamation work to complete
3 years and more for construction of the facilities on the ground
