Oct 2 (Fri): Henoko land reclamation drastically delayed; Over 15,000 opinion statements reached the prefectural office.

On Oct 1, the Okinawa Defense Bureau commented on the current state of the land reclamation: At the area 2-1 on the side of Henoko, the reclaimed land reached a height of 3.1 meters last month. At the end of August, area 2 was 50% reclaimed and fully completed by September 2021.

Since the planned height is 8 meters above the sea level, another 5 meters are necessary. They are building dikes to raise area 2-1, but typhoons and the Coronavirus outbreak delayed the construction work drastically. The central government had to revise the construction schedule several times, and more revisions are inevitable. Since December 2018, a cumulative total of landfill soil dumped amounted to only 3.1% (our estimation) of 20.2 million cubic meters, the estimated total required for completion. The plan says that it takes ten years to complete the land reclamation, but experts predict that it will take twice as long when continuing at this pace.

Upon learning the Defense Bureau’s comment, Governor Denny Tamaki stated that “they finished merely one part of the construction. It is not certain if they finish the project at all.” The prefectural government will examine the written application for design revisions that the Okinawa Defense Bureau submitted. Yesterday, the prefectural government announced that they received over 15,000 opinion statements. It tops the records, 3000 statements.

A bird’s view of the land reclamation site

(In front of the Camp Schwab Gate)

The blue sky spread over Okinawa; it has been a while since the weather was as pleasant as now, although the temperature is high, as usual. Around 30 people participated in the sit-in protest. The riot police chased away the protesters from the road, but the protesters kept on shouting, “No concrete needed in the ocean!” and “Dump trucks go away!” At around 3 p.m., everyone cheered loudly to the news that over 15,000 statements reached the prefectural government office.

They delivered 153 truckloads of materials.

(Ryukyu Cement Awa Pier)

Including 19 members of the Okinawa Heiwa Shimin (Okinawa Peace Forum), close to 30 people protested. Our insistent protest at the exit successfully had kept the pier grounds crowded with dozens of dump trucks for the day. Participation from mainland Japan remains small. We have to keep it up with a small number of participants for a while.

(Motobu Shiokawa Pier)

Four members of the Shimagurumi Kaigi (Island-Wide Conference) of Motobu Town chapter protested. The port is a municipal facility and opens until 5 p.m. The shipping operation closed around 4.30 p.m.

They transported 518 truckloads of earth and sand onto four cargo ships.