Tokyo, 25 November 2015 - Today Greenpeace Japan delivered over 28,759 signatures from 164 countries and regions to Japan’s Ministry of Defense, as a sign of global solidarity for the Okinawan’s struggle to save the last remaining Japanese dugongs.
Okinawa’s Oura Bay in Henoko, Okinawa is the last home of the rare dugong and a haven for marine life. Under plans for a U.S. military airbase the area will be landfilled. Eighty per cent of Okinawan people are against the airbase construction.
“Messages of support for the campaign to save the dugong are pouring in. There is growing opposition to airbase construction plans in Okinawa. The more the authorities try to silence local voices, the stronger the solidarity gets, in Japan and across the globe,” said Kazue Komatsubara, Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace Japan.
“It’s hard to fathom that the Japanese and U.S. governments are joining forces to deliberately destroy such a rich and pristine area of ocean, home of the beloved dugong. People around the world are monitoring the situation in Henoko closely,” added Komatsubara.
Demonstrations at the site gates have lasted more than 500 days. There are regular attempts by the police to clear the protesters.
Earlier this month, the government refused entry for the Greenpeace ship, the Rainbow Warrior, to enter the bay in support of the campaign.
Greenpeace offices across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia Pacific have joined efforts to shine a global spotlight on the plight of the critically endangered dugongs that live and feed in the bay.
“Greenpeace will continue to work with communities and civil society groups around Japan to protect our natural environment.”
Dugongs are listed by International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the Japanese Environment Ministry as highly at risk of extinction, with some estimates putting their number to as very few.
The petition to save the dugong is open here for further signatures:
grnpc.org/IgSK2 ENDS