1) Sept. 4, 1995: Three U.S. servicemen rape a Japanese schoolgirl in Okinawa Prefecture, igniting anger over the presence of U.S. military forces.

2) April 12, 1996: Japan and the United States agree to return Futenma Air Station within five to seven years.

3) Dec. 2, 1996: A final report compiled by the U.S. and Japanese Special Action Committee on Okinawa calls for a 21 percent reduction in U.S. military bases in Okinawa and construction of an offshore facility to replace the heliport at Futenma base.

4) Dec. 21, 1997: A poll says the majority of Nago citizens are opposed to having an offshore heliport built near Camp Schwab, a U.S. Marines Corps base in the city.

5) Feb. 6, 1998: Okinawa Gov. Masahide Ota announces his opposition to the proposed offshore heliport facilities.

6) Feb. 8, 1998: Tateo Kishimoto, supported by those in favor of the offshore heliport plan, is elected mayor of Nago.

7) Nov. 15, 1998: Keiichi Inamine, backed by the Liberal Democratic Party, defeats incumbent Gov. Ota for the governorship of Okinawa.

8) April 2, 1999: Residents of the Henoko district in Nago file a request with the Okinawa Prefectural Government to invite the offshore heliport to be built near Camp Schwab.

9) April 29, 1999: Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi decides to hold the 2000 summit of the Group of Eight major powers in Nago.

10) Sept. 3, 1999: A senior prefectural official says that the Henoko district in Nago is among the candidates.

11) Sept. 24, 1999: A Henoko administrative committee adopts a resolution to oppose construction of heliport facilities on the ground and reclaimed land.

12) Nov. 19, 1999: Gov. Inamine officially accepts relocation of the U.S. heliport facilities within the prefecture.

13) Nov. 21, 1999: Gov. Inamine appears on TV to express his intention to ask Nago to accept the heliport facilities.

14) Nov. 22, 1999: The Okinawa Prefectural Government officially picks the Henoko district as the relocation site for the U.S. heliport.