Defense Bureau suggests moving Naha Military Port to a 49 hectare landfill in the sea off Urasoe. (29mr22)

Splendor of Okinawa: Along the Tengan River


An agreement was made between the Japanese and US governments on the return of the U.S. Military Naha Bay Port (Naha Military Port in the cry of Naha. The outline of a design to move it to The city of Urasoe in Okinawa Prefecture has been confirmed. The pillar of the plan is to build the replacement facility for Naha Military Port on a 49 or so hectare landfill on the north side of Urasoe wharf. The Defense Bureau plans to submit the proposal to the Prefecture and Urasoe on 30 March.


With the assembling of the Japanese Government’s design proposal, this is the first concrete action taken on the move, since the Japan-US agreement in 1974. With the September gubernatorial election in view, the Japanese government seems to be aiming to check Governor Denny Tamaki who opposes the relocation of the US Military Futenma Airbase from Ginowan to Henoko in Nago by the concrete expedition of the Naha Military Port relocation.


The Naha Military Port facility occupies about 56 hectares right in the center of the city of Naha. The relocation to Urasoe Wharf was recorded  by SACO (the Special Action Committee on Okinawa) in 1996 based on the terms of the 1974 Japan-US land return agreement on the move. Because of the great convenience of the Naha location, proposals for construction of business and other facilities on the Military Port land after the move abound. So, the business community is pushing for the move.


In the design proposal, the landfill will be in the northern section of the wharf where the effect on commercial shipping will be minimal. Because the waves in the area facing the East China Sea are fierce, a new breakwater will be built.


If the design proposal for the relocation is approved in committee discussions by both Naha and Urasoe, the design proposal will be swiftly agreed on by  Japanese government authorities of the Foreign and Defense Ministries at a Japan-US joint committee and a process will be drawn up to start work on an environmental assessment.


Both the Japanese and US governments had agreed in 2013 to a handover in 2028, and the construction time was estimated at 9 years. 

 

Original Japanese article: Yomiuri Shinbun Online, published Tuesday 29 March 2022 at 05:01

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/1bc88c96b02ac6e9a2c5a88a1a601a885f4cc5df


Translator’s note:

Denny in the News: news about Okinawan Governor Denny Tamaki.

Denny Tamaki is the governor of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. Although Okinawa is important as an international tourist destination and a key element in strategic US Military Forces, its governor receives very little coverage in the Japanese press and almost none in the English language media. 

  1. This blog hopes to  translate one news article a day on the governor.  It is unsponsored and unauthorized. The translator simply hopes to improve his skills and perhaps give the governor an English speaking audience. 

  2. Any suggestion on improving the translation will be gratefully accepted. However, please leave political comments for another forum.

  3. Where they occur, words and phrases in Ryukyuan (the Okinawan language) are rendered in italics and translated in parentheses. Names  whose readings are uncertain are rendered as Name (=Kanji?) as in Nagayuki (=長行?). Any corrections in such instances would be gratefully appreciated.

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