I spent nearly a decade on The Rock. Too bad the U.S. military finds itself in this predicament.
I imagine growth around what we called MCAF during the sixties is being crowded out by population growth on all sides. They do need to move. But hard to fault the Shimojijima islanders for not wanting all those Marines on their shores. Life will change drastically, forever.
The resolution purported a need to ensure the island's security following the 2004 sighting of a Chinese submarine in Japanese territorial waters.
Back when Okinawa was a Kingdom, they paid tribute to both China and Japan. Wonder if China claims rights to some of the Ryukyu Islands. If so, the people of little Shimojijima may well change their attitude.
If one were to be pedantic 'Heliport' should really be 'Helicoport'.