The source of all life force, traditional Okinawan belief holds, is "Nirai Kanai" - a world far out in the sea where the gods reside. These spirits send blessings from the mythical place surrounded by brilliant blue waters.

This time, though, the gods of Nirai Kanai might be the ones in need of help. After decades of a deeply resented American and Japanese military presence on land, a new threat has come to the sea itself. Plans are in place for a sea-based airport, the first of its kind, for the United States Marines. Critics say it could devastate a sensitive coral reef off the coast of Henoko, a village near Nago City, Japan.

Opponents, including environmental groups from both sides of the Pacific, call the air station an ecologically catastrophe on a sea replete with irreplaceable biodiversity. But Okinawa is Japan's poorest prefecture, and a large minority near Henoko appears to support the proposed base in hopes of an economic boost.

Although the struggle over the Marine base in Okinawa sounds typical - US bases generate local protests around the world - it runs deeper and involves an array of competing interests not only internationally but within Japan itself. For one thing, the opposition is more cultural than political, more antiwar than anti-American. For another, the US military is actually trying to reduce its community footprint. But for the US to find the right balance - in one of the most strategic outposts in East Asia - will prove tricky, analysts say, especially if it encroaches on one of the world's most diverse marine environments.

"Villages like Henoko still have a somewhat traditional lifestyle, and within that lifestyle, nature has an important place," says Jonathan Taylor of California State University in Fullerton, who is studying Okinawan social movements. "Even if they never swim in the ocean, just knowing that the ocean is clean is an important thing. [The new base] is going to disrupt that."

American defense planners say that Okinawa's location, sometimes called "the tip the spear," is strategic because it lies close to such hot spots as North Korea and the Taiwan Strait. The Pentagon has consistently rejected calls to diminish troop deployments here on the grounds that the perception of a pullout risks a power vacuum and possible aggression from China or North Korea.

But the stance conflicts with values many Okinawans hold dear. Okinawan culture has always been peaceful, and the devastation of the main island during a World War II battle has cemented local antiwar sentiment. When Japan first annexed the islands in the 19th century, Okinawans vehemently opposed its plans to station garrisons there, reasoning that a military buildup could attract trouble.

In other countries, opposition to US military bases rarely stems from such longstanding cultural attitudes. It's usually precipitated by a particular tragic incident. When two South Korean girls died under the wheels of an American military vehicle in 2002, Korean demonstrators burned US flags and attacked Seoul's Camp Gray with firebombs. The Iraq war has also inspired resistance in places like Germany, where activists have organized blockades of American bases, and Italy, where demonstrators have sought to block trains carrying US personnel and arms shipments.

If anything, the sea-based airport is an American attempt to reduce the military's "footprint" on Okinawa proper. The proposed offshore facility would allow the demolition of Marine Air Station Futenma, a 1,200-acre land base that dominates about 45 percent of populous Ginowan City. Okinawans have wanted it gone for years because of concerns about pollution, crime, and potentially catastrophic plane crashes.

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