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Yomiuri Shimbun file photo Taketoyo Toguchi, mayor of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture.
Jiji Press
16:11 JST, January 28, 2024
NAHA (Jiji Press) — Taketoyo Toguchi, mayor of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, on Sunday conveyed to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi city residents’ concerns that the planned U.S. military base relocation to the city may cause traffic congestion and noise.
During his meeting with the chief cabinet secretary at a hotel in Naha, the mayor said, “It’s important to address residents’ concerns and protect their lives.”
Hayashi is visiting Okinawa for the first time since he assumed the post of chief cabinet secretary in December last year.
“We would like to hear local voices and reflect them in the government’s efforts,” Hayashi said.
The central government is working to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station, located in a heavily populated area in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to the Henoko coastal district in Nago.
Ahead of his meeting with the Nago mayor, Hayashi visited the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman in the prefecture, where a savage ground battle was waged in the late stage of World War II, and laid flowers at the National War Dead Peace Mausoleum in the park.
On Sunday afternoon, Hayashi will hold talks with Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki at the prefectural office in Naha. The chief cabinet secretary will also visit the Ginowan city office to meet with Mayor Masanori Matsugawa and have a look at the Futenma Air Station from the top of the city office building.
