The deadline came on Sep 28 for entries of opinions on the request for changes to the original construction plan submitted by the Okinawa Defence Bureau to Okinawa Prefecture. Since the beginning of the entries on Sep 8, All Okinawa (All Okinawa Coalition) has called in united action for all organizations in Okinawa. Each group prepared its own brochure explaining friendly to citizens an unfamiliar system of submission of opinion statements and collected statements one by one. According to newspaper accounts, about 7,000 opinions reached the prefectural government office as of Sep 24.
We translated the brochure into Korean, English, and Chinese, and delivered it to foreign countries. More than 30 opinion statements came from South Korea. Others seemed to have been sent directly to the Okinawa prefectural office from Taiwan, Hongkong, and English-speaking countries by e-mail.
Some of the protesters in front of the gate took to the streets to start the action at Nago City, Ginoza Village, Towns of Motobu and Kyan, etc., aiming to collect 10,000 opinion statements. All groups gathered Sep 27, the last day of entries, in front of the prefectural office for calling on the people of Okinawa. Hiroji Yamashiro appealed on the microphone, “If the number of the current submission goes over 10,000, exceeding the history of all previous opinion statement submission. It will be strong support for Governor Denny Tamaki to disapprove of the revised construction plan.
The deep surging voices of the prefectural citizens will make a significant opportunity for stopping the construction of a new military base.”
Watching closely, we wait for the tally of the opinion statements to be reported soon.
We want to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to many people abroad who sent opinions. 감사합니다! 謝謝！Thank you!
(In front of the Camp Schwab Gate)
About 30 citizens staged a sit-in at 8:30 in front of the gate. Vehicles delivering material came 10 minutes later than usual. The reason was unknown. The citizens sang songs and chanted slogans, showing their will for protest. The leader of the riot police here was generous. He waited patiently for the citizens to end speeches and songs without interruption. He responded to the citizens’ talking with a smile, not issuing a forcible removal order to the officers. The citizens can be collaborative (?) with a leader like this. The citizens, after some resistance, moved voluntarily to other places without physical contact with the officers. A total of 148 large vehicles delivered the material
s in three rounds throughout the day.
(On-the-sea at Oura Bay)
The protestors went to the sea on two protest boats and eight canoes. All members were detained by the coast guard officers after having approached, for protest, a sand carrier with a grub bucket that was about to enter the Oura Bay. In the afternoon, the protesters on the sea were detained and taken back to the beach again when they approached the K8 seawall, where the carrier ships unload the sand and soil.
A photo below shows the construction of the seawall for bringing the landfill site’s ground level higher.
(Ryukyu Cement Awa Pier)
About twenty citizens, divided into two points, the entry and exit of the pier, continued to raise a voice in protest against the dump truck drivers. Five Go-Go Drive members also cruised around the highway to delay the run of dump trucks. The riot police leader puts a clear priority on the dump trucks’ smooth run, treating citizens with an iron fist. He controlled the traffic for more than ten minutes to completely blocked the protest movement. He repeatedly causes trouble with the citizens every day.
A total of 799 truckloads of the earth and sand were loaded to three carriers.
(Motobu Shiokawa Pier)
About 15 members, including those of Okinawa Heiwa Shimin (Okinawa Peace Forum), strolled in the pier grounds and delayed dump trucks’ runs. It seems that the soil and sand have come from a new quarry since last week. Most of the dump trucks are approaching the pier from another direction. Besides that, the operation is at a faster tempo. Mr. T, a resident of Motobu Town who has been monitoring Shiokawa Pier for a long time, says, “The main port of shipping the soil and sand will be Shiokwa. The use of the Ryukyu Cement Pier, being a private pier, is an easy target of criticism.” ing. If Shiokawa Pier becomes the main port of shipping, we have to revise our way of protest
A total of 618 truckloads of the earth and sand were loaded to five carrier barges.
Number of dump trucks to date and percentage against the total
The estimation calculated on the basis of the number of ruckloads serves only as a reference.
Number of dump trucks which made delivery from December 2018 to the end of December 2019 114,601(1.39%)
| 26（Sat） | 28（Mon） | 29（Tue） | 30（Wed） | Oct.1 （Thr） | 2（Fri） | |
| Awa | 967 | 554 | ||||
| Shiokawa | 0 | 618 |
| Number of dump trucks ※ |
Weightt of earth/sand
※① |
Converted to volume
※② |
Volume per Total
※③ |
| 249,793 | 1,248,965t | 624,483㎥ | 3.091% |
