Soft ground found at parts of a planned reclamation site for the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture from Ginowan to the Henoko district of Nago is prompting the central government to consider changing the design of its reclamation work.
The central government plans to launch the design change as early as this spring. The government will file an application for the design change with the Okinawa prefectural government within this year, at the earliest. The Okinawa prefectural government, which has opposed the relocation, is poised to not approve the change -- and thus a delay in the reclamation work on the northeastern part will be inevitable.
The Defense Ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau conducted a drilling survey on the seabed between 2014-2016 in order to determine the geological condition of the site to be reclaimed.
The bureau found several spots of soft ground at the gorge on the northeastern side. Given soft ground could cause the ground to sink after the construction of an air base, the ministry embarked on an additional geological survey.
The result of the ministry's survey is scheduled to be compiled in March. According to government sources, several points of soft ground have already been confirmed anew.
"Soft ground conditions will be confirmed once the result is compiled," a senior ministry official said. "The ground must be improved."
In December 2013, then Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima approved the reclamation work off the Henoko district. However, any change in the relocation work would require approval from current Gov. Denny Tamaki, who has expressed his stance of not giving approval based on "fears that [ground improvement work] would have an impact on the area's marine life."
The central government is considering filing a lawsuit against the Okinawa prefectural government, demanding an examination of the legality of the prefectural government's handling, should Okinawa not approve its request. The matter will then likely develop into a legal battle between the central and prefectural governments.
The central government plans to expedite reclamation work on the southern side of the planned reclamation area, where there are no problems with the ground conditions, until it is possible to reclaim the land on the northeastern side of the area. The central government has been carrying out landfill work on the southern side since December.
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