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Suggestions Toyko might withhold funds for Okinawa over US military base irks locals

Okinawans reacted angrily to the suggestion that the national government is planning to withhold funds promised for the prefecture's development due to opposition to the relocation of a US military base.

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US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa. Photo: EPA

Okinawans have reacted angrily to the suggestion that the national government is planning to withhold funds it promised for the development of the prefecture due to the newly elected governor's opposition to the relocation of a US military base.

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Under political pressure from Tokyo, as well as financial incentives to the tune of Y379.4 billion (HK$24.57 billion) for fiscal year 2015, former governor Hirokazu Nakaima reversed his opposition and agreed to push ahead with closure of the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station and the transfer of its troops and hardware to an enlarged US base at Camp Schwab, on the northeast coast of the island.

Most local people oppose the transfer of thousands of troops to a rural part of the island, as well as the construction of two massive off-shore runways across a pristine coral reef and other facilities.

That decision largely cost Nakaima his position, with Takeshi Onaga elected governor in a landslide victory in late November. He immediately made it clear that he would defy the national government on the issue.

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That defiance has not gone down well in Tokyo, with local media quoting unnamed officials of the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as dropping heavy hints that Tokyo is planning to review its budgetary assistance to the prefecture because of the governor's uncompromising stance on the issue.

"It's blackmail," said Yasukatsu Matsushima , a professor of economics at Kyoto's Ryukoku University. "Okinawan people are very angry at this because there should be no links between the US bases and assistance to help develop the islands' economy," he said. "But I guess we should not be surprised as they have done this sort of thing before," he added. "They are able to bring a lot of pressure to bear to make sure they get their own way."

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