Marine Corps aircraft, including MV-22B Ospreys and CH-53E Super Stallions, prepare to depart Ie Shima, Okinawa, Oct. 31, 2015. (William Hester/U.S. Marine Corps)

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The Marine Corps plans to repair an auxiliary airfield runway early next year and resolve a dispute with Okinawa prefecture over parachute training at Kadena Air Base.

Marine Corps Installations Pacific informed the prefecture’s Military Base Affairs Division in mid-September about upcoming work to reinforce the runway at Ie Shima, a spokeswoman for the division said by phone Tuesday.

Contractors are scheduled to move construction material to the island in November or December, with repairs slated to begin in February, Marine spokeswoman 2nd Lt. Kelsey Enlow said by phone Wednesday.

Work at Ie Shima is expected to be completed sometime between June and September of next year, the division spokeswoman said. Some Japanese government officials are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. military will pay for the construction, a spokesman for the Okinawa Defense Bureau, an arm of Japan’s Defense Ministry, said by phone Wednesday. Enlow declined to comment on the cost.

“We are aware that with this repair work, the runway will be reinforced, but we don’t know in detail how it will be reinforced,” the division spokeswoman said.

The Marine Corps and Air Force use the airfield on Ie Shima, a 9-square-mile island a few miles off the Motobu Peninsula, for training, including parachute drops.

Since December, the 18th Wing has conducted that training about once a month at Kadena’s Ridout drop zone despite the prefecture’s objections.

Members of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit's maritime raid force jump from an MV-22B Osprey while training over Ie Shima, Okinawa, Aug. 12, 2024. (Angel Diaz/U.S. Marine Corps)

The Air Force has held drop training at Ridout seven times this year, most recently on Sept. 3, the spokeswoman said. The next day, Gov. Denny Tamaki protested to the Okinawa Defense Bureau, an arm of Japan’s Defense Ministry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she said.

The Marine Corps continues to use the Ie Shima airfield for parachute training, Enlow wrote in an email Tuesday. In August, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit conducted a parachute exercise there, according to photos released by the unit.

The 18th Wing acknowledged questions about the parachute training emailed by Stars and Stripes on Tuesday, but did not immediately provide responses.

“There are many factors which impact our ability to use Ie Shima airfield including weather, winds, sea state, airfield conditions and other factors,” wing spokeswoman Col. Erin Dick said by email July 11.

“While Ie Shima remains our primary drop zone — when it does not immediately meet mission requirements — the 18th Wing Commander may determine the use of Ridout is necessary, in accordance with bilateral agreements,” she wrote.