Development with Destruction

Okinawa is an island at the southern most tip of Japan. About half the size of Hong Kong its 1.4 million inhabitants include 45,000 US military personnel - a legacy of the world war in the Pacific 60 years ago.

Since then the pattern of development on the islands has been highly destructive to a diverse and relatively untouched sub-tropical environment.

Some Okinawans blame what they see as authorities kow-towing to its closest ally and react in protest.

In its journey from war-wrecked country to the world's second economic power, Japan became a leading advocate for environmental treaties but Earth Report finds that in its backyard Japan appears to favour concrete over conservation.

Hell in the Pacific

In 1945, World War II was drawing to a close in Europe, but in the Pacific it was far from over and fierce battles still raged. The bloodiest and most destructive was the battle for Okinawa.

A cluster of around fifteen hundred naval vessels bombarded Okinawa for 90 days in what became known as the 'The Typhoon of Steel'.

Losses were heavy on both sides but the perhaps the greatest tragedy was the civilian casualties.

The intense bombardment drove both Japanese forces and Okinawan civilians into cave systems and underground fortifications. Schoolchildren were drafted into military support roles and were even trained to man heavy weapons.

A witness, who now works in the Himeyuri Peace Museum in Okinawa, recounts her experiences.

Shimabukuro Yoshiko- World War II Survivor: "Before my eyes, my friend Ogido Utako, who was one year older than me, was shot in the stomach. Because her intestines were exposed, I knew she shouldn't drink water. But she was pleading so I gave her just a mouthful. This is the most painful experience for me."

Such was the power of Japanese propaganda that many Japanese soldiers and civilians committed suicide, believing that capture by the Allied forces would be a worse fate.

Some of the caves have become memorials, where schoolchildren are able to learn about the horror of the battle for the first time.

It's estimated that a quarter of a million lives were lost including an estimated one third of the civilian population.

New Battles

Many Okinawans insist that the war continues today - in the form of an occupation by foreign forces - and that the focus of conflict simply shifts from one part of the island to the other.

For the last eight years campaigners have staged a continuing protest to halt the construction of yet another American military facility in Henoko, on the East coast of Okinawa.

Taira Natsume, Protestant Minister: "This movement is not organised by a single group. People come from all over Japan and even from overseas with various ideas and thoughts. Some want to preserve nature, some want to save the dugongs and others want to stop the war. The people share one goal - to stop the construction of another 'killing machine' base."

The East coast has one of Japan's most beautiful coral reef systems and the adjoining sea grass beds are home to some of the 60 remaining dugongs. The ecosystem is so diverse that it is often referred to as the 'Galapagos of the East'.

Early each morning protesters gather in the communication centre to plan the daily schedule. An activity, that has been going on for so long now, that it has become routine.

It's not a simple protest against the Americans. They also have civil contractors, Okinawan authorities and the central Government as their targets.

It's a game of 'cat and mouse' between the protestors and developers. The protestors' goal is a round the clock occupation of four test drilling platforms a kilometre offshore. Today is day 2,765 of their campaign to halt the building of the new base

Taira Osamu, Protestant Minister: "This platform is covered with steel nets, which they put in the middle of the night when we were ashore and that's against the guidelines they submitted to Okinawa prefecture."

Earlier this year in a Californian court, Judge Patel concluded that the US Department of Defence is involved as the Japanese Government is acting on their behalf.

Makishi Yoshikazu, Okinawa Environmental Network: "This is asking the US Government 'What are you going to do about the dugong?' The US government said something interesting. 'It's the Japanese Government constructing the Henoko base and America is only using it, so the U.S. Government has no relationship to the construction'. That's what they said."

Meanwhile, the Henoko protesters believe that their strategy is working, as authorities don't seem to be in a hurry to evict them - could this signal a shift in policy at the higher levels?

It appears the protest is gaining momentum. Officials say they are now considering environmental consequences.

Nishi Masanori, Director Of Defense Facilities Administration Bureau-Naha: "That facility is going to be built about 60 or 70 metres deep on one side and only 4-5 metres shallow water on the other side. Also it really is the place of beautiful corals and we have reports that the dugong is detected over there. Therefore the current place which we would like to build is to avoid all possible damages of these two environmental issues."

Foothold in the Sea

Okinawan environmental campaign groups argue it is impossible to avoid massive destruction with this development. The base will cover nearly three square kilometres of sea with a concrete landing strip. It is, in effect, a massive land reclamation project in the middle of Henoko Bay. They cite the dangers of unproven technology and construction techniques and give the example of the new Kansai International Airport in Osaka slowly sinking back into the sea.

But there is powerful support in some quarters for the Henoko base. Business leaders and officials contend that the base construction will inject vitality into a fading local economy.

Ogido Morihide, Nago Chamber Of Commerce: "The American soldiers spend their money outside the base on their holidays and I think that the flow of people activate the city and expand the economy. We do understand the importance of bases and accept them."

There Is a widespread view that the bases are a key part of the local economy. But official figures from the Military Affairs Base Division - the part of the Okinawan government responsible for managing relations with the US military - indicate that the actual expenditure contributes less than five percent to the Okinawan economy. Most goods are imported.

The Henoko base is not the only threat to the reef systems of Okinawa. Other coral and tidal foreshore habitats have vanished under ambitious civil projects, such as landfill, port facilities and off shore road construction.

There's nothing left of nature in nearly all of the entire Southern end of Okinawa island and the same pattern of economic development seems to be happening at the relatively unspoilt Northern part of the island.

Makishi Yoshikazu, Okinawa Environmental Network: "The nature of Okinawa is protected by coral reef with tropical forest beside it. In our tropical forest there has been construction of many unnecessary roads. Because of this the red soil erosion goes into the rivers and then flows into the sea, killing the coral reef. As well as killing the reef the creatures of the forest die. Those developments have been continuing since 1972 - for over 35 years. The uniqueness of Okinawa's nature is disappearing."

Moriyama Nariko, Henoko Activist: "When I was small this was clear and beautiful river. We used to swim, we used to enjoy the clear beautiful water. Look now it's so muddy, it's so dirty. Look at the mountain! You can see the marines bombing. I think that's where it starts, all this muddy, dirty water. We need to do something about this."

Under the San Francisco Treaty of 1951, the US claimed residual sovereignty of the islands until a successful campaign forced reversion to Japanese jurisdiction in 1972. During this time intense military and civil construction reset the foundations of their society.

The Japanese Government is one of Washington's closest allies, traditionally looking to the USA to provide security. But incredibly, 75 percent of all American military facilities in Japan are crowded into this tiny 1,217 square kilometre island. It's largely the reason that the economy is dependent on civil engineering.

In the 60 years since the war, 37 United States military bases have been constructed. They occupy nearly 20 percent of the total land area of the main island of Okinawa. Outlying atolls such as Tori Shima are used for live ammunition aircraft bombing practice, including reportedly, the use of depleted uranium. In addition to this there are 29 maritime areas and 20 controlled air spaces designated as US Forces areas.

According to a poll conducted by the respected Okinawa Times newspaper, 81 percent of the people polled were against relocating Futenma base to Henoko.

Taira Natsume, Protestant Minister: " The post WWII history of Okinawa has seen the US use this island as a forward base to attack from during the Korean war, the Vietnam war, the Gulf war, the Afghani war and now the Iraqi war. We have been forced to be an aggressor in these wars. If this base is built, local people will be threatened and we will become more of an aggressor to the world. I do not wish to stand on the side of the killers."

Touch and Go

With this level of military activity in Okinawa, accidents are unavoidable. The Futenma air base, built on land confiscated from villagers using bulldozers and bayonets fifty years ago, is now surrounded by the high-density urban sprawl of Ginowan. The base occupies one quarter of the city's land area- effectively cutting it in two.

This daily exercise in Futenma is called 'touch and go'. Helicopters hover near the ground, wait as if to deposit troops and supplies and then ascend to a low altitude flight path, circling the city and repeating the manoeuvre.

Nishi Masanori, Dfab: "The whole population of Okinawa became three times bigger compared to 1945. All these houses face the possible danger of the crash of helicopters which unfortunately happened in August 2004."

Luckily nobody died in this accident but the crash revealed the depth of military control in Okinawan society.

Iha Yoichi, Mayor Of Ginowan: "The Ginowan city fire department and Okinawa prefecture police should have control over such an accident site, but the US military established its control by excluding Japanese government personnel, Japanese media and Japanese citizens. This de facto occupation at the crash scene by the US military became an issue in the Japanese parliament debate."

According to official prefectural sources from 1999-2003 there was 287 mishaps, ranging from stray bullets, oil and chemical spills, to forest fires and aircraft emergencies.

Criminal Charges

There is also the issue of crime. According to the same official source, in the 30 years to 2000 there were 4790 criminal charges brought against military personnel, including 12 murders.

In 1995 the rape of a 12-year-old girl by three American servicemen galvanised 87,000 protesters into action.

Their call to eject the US military from Okinawa has not been heeded but it did finally force authorities to formulate plans to placate an enraged populace.

Nishi Masanori, Dfab: "The governments of United States and Japan agreed to set up a special action committee of Okinawa, so called SACO and decided to decrease the burden of American bases and facilities in Okinawa. What we agreed was to relocate Futenma air base from the current place in Ginowan to somewhere else."

That 'somewhere else' was eventually chosen - Henoko. One of the last pristine coral reef and sea grass ecosystems in Japan. In 2000, the then US President, Bill Clinton, committed to reducing the US presence in a speech given to that year's G8 Summit.

"Today Governor I want to reaffirm to you and the people of Okinawa- we will keep all our commitments and we will continue to do what we can to reduce our footprint on this island." Iha Yoichi, Mayor Of Ginowan: "The SACO agreement proclaimed that Futenma would be closed down within seven years. The planned construction of the replacement offshore will take 15 or 16 years to build from now. Therefore, I have been insisting that the Henoko base cannot be the solution to the Futenma issue."

So the authorities place blame on the activists for the delays in relocating Futenma air base to Henoko. The Mayor and his supporters believe that the SACO agreement is not a 'reduction of burden' but actually a modernisation of military facilities.

Footing the Bill

Henoko air base comes with an estimated US$ 4-6 billion price tag. The Japanese government is footing the bill - a tempting proposition for the US.

And the protest continues. It's been 10 years since SACO and little has happened. In August, a poll conducted by the Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper, concluded that 93 percent of Okinawan residents want the SACO agreement revised. In a determination of will, 23,000 people marched from all over the island as well as mainland Japan.

At the end of the march, the protesters encircled the Futenma air base in a demonstration of solidarity

While filming in Okinawa, Earth Report made consistent efforts to interview a representative of the US military but they were unavailable at the time and subsequent requests have not resulted in an interview or statement.

Shoreline at Risk

The tidal mud flats and beaches around Awase are recognised for their biodiversity yet only one site in Okinawa has been listed by the Japanese government on Ramsar - the International Wetlands Conservation Convention.

South of Henoko lies yet another threatened area. The Earth Report crew found a dead turtle here. Biologists from the nearby aquarium say that this is not an unusual occurrence and more have been found around Awase since this was filmed.

Maekawa Seiji, Awase Preservation Society: "Let me explain why Awase tidal flat is so important. In Awase higata we have many kinds of seaweeds. There are 12 kinds of seaweeds in Okinawa, and 11 of them are here. Most of the species of shellfish in Okinawa live in Awase and it is also the place for migrating birds."

Over half of Awase has now been reclaimed for industry. Six years ago, the government proclaimed this area to be a special economic zone, giving tax breaks to encourage business. It has been a profound failure. Most of the facilities are unused, the port empty and the stripped foreshore lifeless. The remaining area of the tidal foreshores is earmarked for marinas, beach and resort developments.

When the shoreline habitat is modified the turtles disappear. On the West coast, in Ogimi, endangered green sea and loggerhead turtles lay eggs on the gentle incline of a sandy beach. These images were taken a few years ago- this area is now threatened by road building and coastal development.

For generations people have gathered shellfish and edible seaweeds. It may not look like it, but these muddy stretches are home to a bounty of diverse life.

Shellfish and seaweed harvesting is becoming a thing of the past as habitats are lost, and with this, tradition is lost too.

Yohena Tsuru, Resident: "45 years ago we could have picked a hundred kilograms of shellfish if we wanted, because everywhere you went you could touch them in the mud. The last few years they started to fill in the sea and the coastline became sandy and now it is difficult to find them."

Today local fishermen have joined the struggle at Henoko. Many have already relocated from heavily developed parts of the island.

Yamashiro Yoshikatsu, Fisherman: "About 40 years ago a power station was built in Ishikawa. To build this, they filled the sea. I was a fisherman there. The sea became muddy and dirty and I couldn't catch fish and everything- fish, shells and coral reef- it's all dead."

A group of schoolchildren come to Henoko to learn of the crisis. They are taught local ecology and the importance of undisturbed sea grass beds to the health of the dugong. The Camp Schwab border severs the beach. Beyond this, amphibious assault vehicles often conduct exercises. In a recent incident, one sank spilling oil into the surroundings.

Schoolboy: "The Okinawa sea is our pride."

Schoolgirl: "Stop filling the sea."

But nature's foothold in Okinawa is precarious.

Ogido Morihide, Nago Chamber Of Commerce: "The base will generate considerable private economic activities and create job opportunities. This airport will be used as an economic engine to drive the entire Northern region for many years to come. Many more investments will be made in conjunction with the base and they will create jobs."

For many locals and fishermen, compensation is not an issue. There can be no replacement for the loss of their tradition and their life with the sea.

Yamashiro Yoshikatsu, Fisherman : "The sea is part of my body. This sea is part of me Therefore, by killing the sea by reclaiming it, they will kill me too. I feel I have to apologise to the people of the world if this sea is lost."