Japan's Defense Ministry began building an air force base on the uninhabited island of Magee on Wednesday to host drills by deck aviation from U.S. aircraft carriers. The relevant documents were handed over to local government officials, who approved the project, Kyodo news agency reported.

2.2 billion yen (about $17 million) will be compensated to the local fishing cooperative, which will not be able to fish in the area for several years because of the construction works.

Air exercises on Magee in southwestern Kagoshima Prefecture are expected to begin tentatively in 2025. This island formerly belonged to a private company from Tokyo and was purchased from it by the Ministry of Defense of Japan.

The drills, which simulate takeoffs and landings of aircraft on the deck of U.S. aircraft carriers, are accompanied by a lot of noise and invariably cause protests in Japan of the population and local governments. Because of this, they were moved from the Atsugi base southwest of Tokyo to the almost deserted remote island of Iwo Jima. However, it is located too far away - more than 1,200 km from Tokyo.