NHK reported online that construction work has begun at Ie Jima Auxiliary Airfield in Okinawa to make the runway surface more resistant to the extremely high heat emitted by jet planes, projecting that the local government and people will react strongly to the apparent enhancement of base functions there. According to a U.S. military source, a special type of concrete will be used so that the F-35s can use the facility for training in the future. The report added that the Marine Corps have been renovating training facilities at the base since last August.