I thank Gavan McCormack and Mark Selden for valuable comments and suggestions on the draft of this article. I am also very thankful to Dr. Masami Kawamura who introduced me to important literature on the US National Historic Preservation Act and provided insightful comments and suggestions on the draft version of this article.

[1] The text of the court ruling can be accessed at the Earthjustice's website.

[2] For discussion of the court ruling, see Koji Taira, “Okinawan Environmentalists Put Robert Gates and DOD on Trial. The Dugong and the Fate of the Futenma Air Station,” Japan Focus, July 17, 2008; Miyume Tanji, “U.S. Court Rules in the Okinawan Dugong Case: Implications for U.S. Military Bases Overseas,” Critical Asian Studies, Vol. 40, No. 3, 2008, pp. 475-487.

[3] For legal information on the dugong lawsuit, see the Japan Environmental Lawyers Federation's website. See also Kagohashi Takaaki, “Okinawa jugon to hoteki seigi [Okinawa Dugong and Legal Justice], Kankyou to seigi Vols. 34, 35, and 36, 2000. These articles can be accessed here.

[4] The text of the SACO Final Report can be accessed here.

[5] Masamichi Inoue, Okinawa and the U.S. Military: Identity Making in the Age of Globalization (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007), particularly Chapters 5 and 6; Miyume Tanji, Myth, Protest and Struggle in Okinawa, (New York: Routledge, 2006), Chapter 9.

[6] For an account of environmentalization of the anti-construction movement through the dugong, see Miyagi Yasuhiro, “Jyan no umi: Aru tatakai no kiroku” [Dugong's Sea: A Document of A Struggle], in Save the Dugong Campaign Center ed., Jugon no umi to Okinawa: Kichi no shimaga toitudukerumono“ [Dugong's Sea and Okinawa: Questions that an Island with Military Bases are Asking], (Tokyo: Koubunken, 2002), pp. -.

[7] The full text of the IUCN Recommendation 2.72 “Conservation of Dugong (Dugong dugon), Okinawa Woodpecker (Sapheopipo noguchii) and Okinawa Rail (Gallirallus okinawae)” can be accessed at the IUCN website.

[8] See Kagohashi Takaaki, “Okinawa jugon to hoteki seigi [Okinawa Dugong and Legal Justice], Kankyou to Seigi Vols. 34, 35, and 36, 2000. These articles can be accessed here.

[9] Personal communication with Sekine Takamichi in San Francisco on September 17, 2007.

[10] Sekine Takamichi, Minamino shima no kankyo hakai to gendai kankyo soshou: Kaihatsu to amamino kurousagi, okinawa Jugon, yanbaru kuina no mirai [Environmental destructions on Southern Islands and Modern Environmental Lawsuit: Development and Amani Black Rabbits, Okinawa Dugong, and Future of Yanbaru Rail]. (Hyougo: Kwansei Gakuin Daigaku Shuppan, 2007), pp. 93-95.

[11] Personal communication with Sekine Takamichi on September 17, 2007.

[12] Gavan McCormack, Client State: Japan in the American Embrace, (London: Verso, 2007), p 163.

[13] The Center for Biological Diversity, represented by Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit against the US Navy for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act at the island of Farallon de Medinilla (FDM). The US court on March 13, 2002, declared that the US Navy's use of FDM violates the law.

[14] Personal communication with Peter Calvin in San Francisco on September 17, 2007.

[15] For an analysis of the application of the NHPA to this case, see Thomas F. King, “Creatures and Culture: Some Implications of Dugong V. Rumsfeld,” International Journal of Cultural Property. Vol. 13, 2006, pp. 235-240.

[16] King argues that “the most novel feature” of the court's mid-term ruling was that “a living, breathing animal might meet the criteria of eligibility for inclusion in the U.S. National Register.” King, “Creatures and Culture: Some Implications of Dugong V. Rumsfeld,” p239.

[17] Shimazu Yasuo, Shiminkara no kankyo asesumento: Sanka to jittsen no michi [Citizens' Environmental Impact Assessment: Participation and Practices], (Tokyo: NHK Books, 1997), pp. 14.

[18] The result of the Nago city referendum in 1997, which delivered a “NO” to the construction plan, was overturned by then Nago Mayor Higa Tetsuya. Many people in Okinawa saw this event as a sign of the limits of democratic processes and institutions in Okinawa with regard to the so-called “base issues.”

[19] Urashima Etsuko, Henoko: Umi no tatakai [Henoko: Struggle on the Sea], (Tokyo: Impact Shuttpan Kai, 2005).

[20] Takahara Kanako, “Japan, U.S. Agree on a New Futenma Site,” Japan Times, October 27, 2005. Prime Minister Koizumi Jyunichiro was quoted as saying his government was “unable to implement the relocation plan because of a lot of opposition,”

[21] US-Japan Roadmap for Realignment Implementation.

[22] Although both the Japanese and US governments insist that the present plan is final and no changes can be made to it, Governor Nakaima and Nago Mayor Shimabukuro still officially maintain their election campaign promise that the proposed location is unacceptable. See Okinawa Times, December 28, 2008.

[23] Harashina Yukihiko, an EIA expert who participated in the drawing up of the present Japanese EIA law, commented that although the Naha DFAA's preliminary surveys were against the “spirit of the EIA law,” it was not against the EIA law to conduct such a survey as long as the results of the surveys are not intentionally incorporated into the EIA. He presented this comment at a seminar “Henoko jizenchousa ha asesuhou ihan: Takae heripattdo ha asesu wo yarinaose” [Preliminary surveys in Henoko are against the law: redo the EIA for the helipads construction in Takae] in Naha, Okinawa on February 25, 2007.

[24] Higashionna Takuma presented his observation of the preliminary surveys conducted by the Naha DFAA at a forum “Yuntaku shukai: henoko/oura wan no shizen to beigun kichi kensetsu” [Yuntaku Meeting: The Nature of Henoko and Oura Bays and the US Base Construction] in Naha, Okinawa, July 15, 2007.

[25] See Gavan McCormack, “Fitting Okinawa into Japan the ”Beautiful Country,“ Japan Focus, May 30, 2007. See also Nishinihon Shimbun, May 19, 2007.

[26] Ryukyu Shimpo, 8 August 2007.

[27] Shimazu Yasuo, “Futenma daitai hikojyo shisetsu mondai no jyunen” [10 Years of the predicament: Futenma airfield replacement facility].

[28] Ryukyu Shimpo, August 14, 2007.

[29] United State District Court Northern District of California, No. C 03-4350 MHP., Transcript of Proceedings, Okinawa Dugong (dugong dugon), et al., vs. Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense, et al., September 17, 2007.

[30] Hideki Yoshikawa, “Jugon soshou no yukue, chuu” [The Dugong Lawsuit: Where to from here, Part 2], Okinawa Times, January 18, 2008.

[31] I thank Makishi Yoshikaze for giving me the opportunity to help review and analyze the lawsuit documents.

[32] United State District Court Northern District of California, Case 3:03-cv-04350-MHP, Document 94, Government Exhibit 15.

[33] Okinawa Times, April 8, 2006.

[34] United State District Court Northern District of California, Case 3:03-cv-04350-MHP., Document 94, Government Exhibit 15.

[35] Ibid., Case 3:03-cv-04350-MHP., Document 94-2, Filed 06/29/2007, Government Exhibit 17. The document is titled “FRF Review Comments-Discussed with GOJ 4/20/06.”

[36] For the Japanese government's official stance on the divulged information, see the transcript of the national diet security committee meeting held on October 19, 2007.

[37] Ibid.

[38] The Nago city office presented to Makishi, Higashionna, and the author its official stance similar to that of the Japanese government during an informal meeting on November 5, 2007. See Okinawa Times (evening version), November 6, 2007. Governor Nakaima and Mayor Shimabukuro questioned the Japanese government whether the divulged information was valid at the 4^th Three Party Meeting on November 7, 2007. For a summary transcription of the meeting, click here.

[39] During a National Diet Security Committee meeting held on October 19, 2007, after being grilled by lower diet members Akamine Seiken and Tsujimoto Naomi, Ishiba Shigeru, Defense Minister and Kanazawa Hironori officer at the Ministry of Defense admitted that US military aircraft would fly over the communities. For the transcript of the meeting, click here.

[40] Okinawa Kankyo Assesument Kanshidan (Okinawa Environment Impact Assessment Oversight Group). N.D.

[41] Okinawa Times, December 11, 2007.

[42] The first report of the Okinawa Prefectural EIA Review Committee to Governor on the “scoping document” can be accessed here.

[43] For the text of Nakaima's “Governor's Comments” and critiques of the Governor's Comments,“ see Okinawa Times, December 22, 2007; Ryukyu Shimpo, December 22, 2007.

[44] Okinawa Times, January 12, 2008; Ryukyu Shimpo, January 12, 2008.

[45] Okinawa Times, January 17, 2008; Ryukyu Shimpo, January 17, 2008.

[46] The second report of the Okinawa Prefectural EIA Review Committee to Governor on the “scoping document” can be accessed here.

[47] Okinawa Times, January 22, 2008; Ryukyu Shimpo January 22, 2008.

[48] In an interview by the Okinawa Times, Sakurai Kunitoshi argued that the information obtained from the dugong lawsuit made it very difficult for the Japanese government to keep concealing the details of the construction plan, thus the “additional documents.” See Okinawa Times, April 27, 2008.

[49] Okinawa Times, January 25, 2008; Ryukyu Shimpo, January 25, 2008.

[50] Yomiuri Shinbun, January 25, 2008.

[51] Okinawa Times, January 25, 2008; Ryukyu Shimpo, January 25, 2008.

[52] See Koji Taira, “Okinawan Environmentalists Put Robert Gates and DOD on Trial. The Dugong and the Fate of the Futenma Air Station”; Miyume Tanji, “U.S. Court Rules in the Okinawan Dugong Case: Implications for U.S. Military Bases Overseas.”

[53] For a border discussion of this particular aspect of the ruling, see Miyume Tanji, “U.S. Court Rules in the Okinawan Dugong Case: Implications for U.S. Military Bases Overseas,” pp. 482-484.

[54] United State District Court Northern District of California, No. C 03-4350 MHP., Transcript of Proceedings, Okinawa Dugong (dugong dugon), et al., vs. Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense, et al., September 17, 2007.

[55] Hideki Yoshikawa, “Jugon soshou no yukue, ge” [The Dugong Lawsuit: Where to from here, Part 3], Okinawa Times, January 21, 2008.

[56] Japanese environmental NGOs have taken the idea to the IUCN Congress on three occasions in 2000, 2004, and 2008 respectively, where the idea was adopted by in the forms of IUCN recommendations, 2.72, 3.114, and MOT027. The text of these IUCN recommendations can be accessed here.

[57] Shimazu Yasuo, “Futenma daitai hikojyo shisetumonndai no jyunen [10 Years of the Predicament: Futenma Airfield Replacement Facility].

[58] Shimazu Yasuo, Personal communication, January 14, 2008.

[59] Sakurai Kunitoshi, “Kekkan shouhin no boueikyoku asesu” [Okinawa DB's Flawed Assessment], Okinawa Times, April 7, 2008.

[60] Ibid.

[61] Kawamura Masami, “The Dugong's Day in IUCN Congress and US Court,” presentation at the American Anthropological Association Meeting in San Francisco, November 22, 2008.

[62] For a lucid discussion of what can be considered historically and culturally significant under the NHPA, see Thomas F. King, Saving Places that Matter: A Citizen's Guide to the National Historic Preservation Act, (Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press, 2007), Chapter 1.

[63] For understanding of the NHPA Section 106, see Thomas F. King, Saving Places that Matter: A Citizen's Guide to the National Historic Preservation Act.

[64] Sarah Burt, an Eathjustice lawyer, came to Okinawa to report the ruling of the dugong lawsuit at a symposium “Okinawa jugon shizen no kenri soshou shinpo [Okinawa Dugong Lawsuit: The Right of the Nature Symposium] held in Naha on April, 20, 2008. She presented an overview of the ruling of the lawsuit while emphasizing the procedural nature of the lawsuit.

[65] Hideki Yoshikawa, “Jugon soshou no yukue, ge” [The Dugong Lawsuit: Where to from here, Part 3], Okinawa Times, January 21, 2008.

[66] Okinawa Times, January 26, 2008; Ryukyu Shimpo, January 26, 2008.

[67] Sekine Takamichi, Minamino shima no kankyo hakai to gendai kankyo soshou: Kaihatsu to amamino kurousagi, okinawa Jugon, yanbaru kuina no mirai [Environmental destructions on Southern Islands and Modern Environmental Lawsuit: Development and Amani Black Rabbits, Okinawa Dugong, and Future of Yanbaru Rail]. (Hyougo: Kwansei Gakuin Daigaku Shuppan 2007), Chapter 3 and Chapter 4.

[68] Thomas F. King, “Creatures and Culture: Some Implications of Dugong V. Rumsfeld,” International Journal of Cultural Property. pp., 238-239.

[69] For discussions on the roles of Henoko elders in the anti-construction movement, see Masamichi Inoue, Okinawa and the U.S. Military: Identity Making in the Age of Globalization, particularly Chapter 5; Miyume Tanji, Myth, Protest and Struggle in Okinawa, (New York: Routledge, 2006). Inoue and Tanji offer somewhat different accounts on the roles of elders due in part to their differing theoretical perspectives: Inoue emphasizes class division while Tanji stresses gender. Tanji provides in the concluding section a lucid discussion on the roles of Okinawan people's experiences and memories of WWII and living with US bases as a unifying cause for social movement in Okinawa.

[70] Personal communication with Mr. Kayo Sogi on May 30, 2008.

[71] Personal communication with Mrs. Taira Etsumi on May 30, 2008.

[72] Maeda Issue, “Okinawa no jugon to murabito no seikatsu” [Okinawa Dugong and Life of Local Community], Kankyo to seigi vol. 75, 2004. pp. 77. See also Okinawa Prefectural Government Nature Conservation Division, jugon no hanashi: Okinawa no jugon [The Story of the Dugong: Dugong in Okinawa], (Okinawa Prefectural Government: 2008). Jugon no hanashi can be accessed here.

[73] QAB Ryukyu Asahi Hoso (Ryukyu Asahi Broadcasting),“Ningyo no sumu umi” [Ocean of Mermaid], aired on April, 29, 2008. This program can be accessed here.

[74] An English version of Cocco's “The Hills of Dugongs” video can be accessed here.

[75] See for example Kinjo Akemi, Ao jugon: Okinawa, heiwa, futoko: kokoro sabiishi tomodachi e, [The Blue Dugong: Okinawa Peace, Truant, To the lonely ones…], (Naha: Okinawa Times-sha, 2005); Kenshu Kudeken, Dugon to tarah [Dugong and Tara], (Naha: Akebono Shuppan, 2001).

[76] Personal communication with Umisedo Yutaka on October 13, 2008.

[77] James E. Roberson, “Uchina Pop: Place and Identity in Contemporary Okinawan Popular Music,” in Island of Discontent: Okinawan responses to Japanese and American Power, eds., Laura E. Hein and Mark Selden, (Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003), pp. 192-227; Shirota Chika, “Dancing beyond the U.S. Military: Okinawan Eisa as Identity and Diaspora,” Theatre InSight Vol. 10, No. 1, 1999, pp., 4-13.

[78] For a general discussion on the role of culture in Okinawa's struggle against the Japanese and the US governments, see Laura E. Hein and Mark Selden, “Culture, Power and Identity in Contemporary Okinawa,” in Island of Discontent: Okinawan responses to Japanese and American Power, eds., Laura E. Hein and Mark Selden, (Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003), 1-38.

[79] For a discussion on resolving adverse effects on properties with historical and cultural significance, see Thomas F. King, Saving Places that Matter: A Citizen's Guide to the National Historic Preservation Act, (Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press, 2007), Chapter 9.

[80] Thomas F. King, “Creatures and Culture: Some Implications of Dugong V. Rumsfeld,” International Journal of Cultural Property. pp. 239.

[81] Yoshida Kensei, “US Bases, Japan and the Reality of Okinawa as a Military Colony” (translated by Rumi Sakamoto and Matt Allen), Japan Focus, August 19, 2008.