Ryukyu Shimpo front-paged a report on the start on Aug. 22 of work to expand the landing helicopter deck for amphibious assault ships at the U.S. military’s Iejima Auxiliary Airfield in Okinawa. The paper ran an editorial condemning the work as an “act of violence” that runs counter to efforts to reduce the base-hosting burden on Okinawa and calling for an immediate halt to the construction.