Voters in Japan’s Okinawa has resoundingly rejected the plan of relocation of a new United States military base within their island during a referendum held on Sunday, but however, the government has said on Monday that it was intended to press ahead with the construction plans of a new American military base.

According to Reuters news reports, over 70 per cent of voters had opposed the relocations of US Marines’ Futenma air base in Okinawa island on Sunday’s referendum. Okinawa works as a host to a bulk of the US military forces in Japan, whose alliance is central to its security with Washington. Several Okinawa residents have associated the base with accident, crime and pollution.

Okinawa governor Denny Tamaki was required to respect the referendum’s outcome and further notify the premier vice and the US President Donald Trump if the response were backed by more than of 25 per cent by the voters.

Okinawa authorities and Japan’s central government have long been at loggerheads over plans to relocate the US air base within the island.

A Japan-US agreement has called for relocating the US base which was surrounded by shops, hospitals and schools to a less populated region, called Henoko, situated on the northern part of Okinawa island.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has on Monday told reporters that the government was considering results seriously and would further coordinate to obtain the understanding of resident of Okinawa, but that the plan could not be deferred.

Abe said, “We cannot avoid the necessity of moving Futenma, said to be the most dangerous base in the world. We can’t put this off any longer.”

Okinawa governor called on the government to accept the “firm decision” of Okinawa residents, and said, “I urge the government to change their view that relocating the base to Henoko is the only way and halt construction, along with more dialogue with us on closing Futenma and returning the land to us.”