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Hundreds of Japanese protest against new base construction in Okinawa

Xinhua, April 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

Hundreds of Japanese rallied in downtown Tokyo on Sunday in protest against the government's move of building a replacement in Okinawa for the U.S. Futenma airbase in the Japanese southernmost island prefecture.

Protesters, who held banners that read "No War, No Base in Henoko," "The government should follow Okinawa's public opinion" and "Stop constructing new base in Henoko," shouted slogans through speakers.

Kato Noriko, an organizer for the U.S. base relocation campaign, told Xinhua that they were trying to stop the building of the airbase replacement in Henoko area as there were already too many U.S. bases in Okinawa.

"Okinawa people oppose the relocation plan reached between the Japanese central government and the United States. And we are here to protest against what they want to do in Henoko," she said.

Another organizer, who identified himself as Nohira, said they wanted to send a message to Abe and the United States that Japanese people, especially Okinawa people, opposed the construction of a new base in Henoko.

They also put an advertisement on the Washington Post when Abe is in Washington.

Abe kicked off his week-long visit to the United States on Sunday with a focus on enhancing Japan-U.S. military alliance.

The central government here and the United States agreed to move the airbase from the populated Ginowan area in Okinawa, which hosts 70 percent U.S. bases in Japan, to the less crowded coast area of Henoko, but the Okinawa prefectural government opposes the plan and had issued an order to stop the construction of the new base.

Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga told Abe in their meeting earlier this month that he would never allow the central government to build a new base and asked Abe to convey Okinawa's " clear opposition" against the relocation plan to U.S. President Barack Obama.

Resistance to the new base flared up recently due to Tokyo's insistence to go ahead the relocation plan. Local protesters have clashed with police. Endi