Protestors in Okinawa faced off with the Coast Guard as the government started work on Thursday on the controversial relocation of a US military base.

Japan has begun cordoning off the shoreline near Camp Schwab in Okinawa, where functions of the US Futenma Air Station are to be moved.

Futenma is located in a densely populated area of the island.

Complaints over noise prompted a Japan-US agreement to move the base.

Many Okinawan residents want the base moved out of their prefecture or out of the country and oppose the expansion of Camp Schwab.

The government set buoys to prevent protesters from interfering in construction work.

They mark the area where seabed drilling will take place to prepare for construction.

Demonstrators circled the area in boats, attempting to interfere with the work.

About 100 protesters also gathered on land at Camp Schwab’s front gate.

Seabed surveys will continue until November, when land reclamation is expected to begin.

Moving the Futenma base is likely to be a major issue in Okinawa’s upcoming gubernatorial election.