The Okinawa prefectural assembly has unanimously approved a written statement urging the central government to scrap its plan to prepare a training area in Okinawa for the Ground Self-Defense Force.

The Japanese defense ministry plans to acquire the site of a former golf course in Uruma City to create a new training field for the 15th brigade of the GSDF.

The ministry believes that the number of training sessions will increase as the brigade is upgraded to a division.

The plan has drawn opposition from local residents, and Okinawa Governor Tamaki Denny and Uruma City Mayor Nakamura Masato argue that the central government should not acquire the land in the first place.

On Thursday, the Okinawa assembly passed the petition asking Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Defense Minister Kihara Minoru to withdraw the plan.

The document says Okinawa residents are apparently upset as the plan was unveiled without notifying them, local communities, the prefecture and the city.

It also says the candidate site is surrounded by quiet residential areas and next to an educational facility which about 40,000 children visit annually to experience activities in a natural environment.

The document warns that a training area could adversely affect the living environment of local people and children could lose learning opportunities.

It demands that the government promptly scrap the plan to improve people's welfare and protect their lives and properties.

The assembly says its members will likely convey the demand to relevant Cabinet ministers directly.