The US military has started transporting around 37,000 cubic meters (1.3 million cubic feet) of soil and sand, which have been excavated during road construction work at the US Yokota Air Base to the Saitama prefecture in Greater Tokyo area, despite protests on the part of local residents, local media reported
TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th April, 2019) The US military has started transporting around 37,000 cubic meters (1.3 million cubic feet) of soil and sand, which have been excavated during road construction work at the US Yokota Air Base to the Saitama prefecture in Greater Tokyo area, despite protests on the part of local residents, local media reported.
The soil and sand are set to be relocated to the US military Communications Station in Saitama's Tokorozawa city, whose residents were not very thrilled to learn that all the excavated mass would be dumped in their city, the NHK broadcaster reported.
According to the broadcaster, local residents and authorities do not want the Communication Station and its territory to be misused.
The head of the department charged with interaction with US military bases in Tokorozawa has expressed regret over the fact that the United States did not take into account the will of local residents.
The soil and sand are expected to be relocated within a year.
Japan hosts a large number of US military bases and personnel across the country and notably in Okinawa. Concerns regarding the operation of the bases have been raised on a number of occasions, particularly in connection with the safety of military activities and inappropriate behavior of some soldiers.
