Time, Cost Of Moving US Base Within Japan's Okinawa To More Than Double - Reports

Relocating the US air base in the city of Ginowan in Japan's Okinawa prefecture to the less crowded Henoko Bay will have to be extended from the initially planned five years to about 12 years, the Japanese Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Defense Ministry

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th December, 2019) Relocating the US air base in the city of Ginowan in Japan's Okinawa prefecture to the less crowded Henoko Bay will have to be extended from the initially planned five years to about 12 years, the Japanese Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Defense Ministry.

The cost of moving the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is also likely to increase from 350 billion Yen ($3.2 billion) to at least 930 billion yen, the media said.

The delay is reportedly due to the fact that the soft seafloor needs to be reinforced as part of the reclamation.

At the beginning of this year, more than 72 percent of Okinawa residents voted in a referendum against the base relocation plan. In April, the United States and Japan reconfirmed their plans to move the base despite objections from the public.