Japanese court decision forces Okinawa to approve coral transplant project for Marine base
by
Buy PhotoConstruction work for a runway into Oura Bay is pictured at Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Jan. 19, 2019. (Stars and Stripes)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa The prefectural government on Okinawa has given reluctant approval to the Japanese government to relocate 40,000 colonies of endangered coral from a U.S. military construction site.
Forced by a decision by Japan’s Supreme Court, Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki announced the prefecture’s acquiescence to a plan to move the colonies from Oura Bay, just offshore of the Marine Corps’ Camp Schwab. The Marines are building a runway into the rural bay to relocate its airfield from crowded Ginowan city.