TOKYO (Sputnik) — According to the local NHK broadcaster, over 100 policemen dispersed dozens of protesters blocking passage of the building machinery to the construction site, one of the protesters was detained.
The Japanese government has resumed construction of a US military base last week, having negated a regional government veto on its relocation just days earlier. The base is being moved from Okinawa's highly-populated district in the city of Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area of Nago city.
In April, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and his US counterpart Ashton Carter reaffirmed the relocation plan despite the local residents' opposition, as part of a 2006 intergovernmental agreement to realign the US military presence in the country.
Over half of 47,000 US troops deployed in Japan are based in Okinawa, accounting for less than 1 percent of the Japanese land area.
