The number of people opposing the relocation plan is the second- highest on record and the highest since Abe took office in 2012 and the survey showed that more than 30 percent of Okinawans want the base relocated outside Japan, while around 30 percent said the base should be closed and removed unconditionally. More than 20 percent said the base should be moved to another prefecture in Japan.

"At first I think the public were enamored with Abe and his strong economic policies, but it would seem that they are finally coming around to understand that their leader's priority was never the economy, it was the military, and taking it from a glorified police force of sorts, and reintroducing it alongside new weapons and tie-ups with other countries as a global fighting force, committed to following the United States into battle,"said McLellan.

"Okinawans perhaps have felt firsthand the brutality of Japan's past militarism and hence their anti-base and antiwar calls have been ringing out for decades, but it appears that the public on the mainland is finally understanding that their leader is autocratically and rapidly steering the nation towards potential conflict and as the statistics and demonstrations show, opposition to his war moves are growing here," McLellan concluded.