Okinawa Governor Vows To Revoke Aapproval For Base Relocation Work

OKINAWA, JAPAN - SEP. 14: Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga said Monday that his government will begin procedures to revoke its approval for landfill work required for a controversial U.S.-Japan plan to relocate a key U.S. base within the southern island prefecture. "It has been recognized that the approval has defects," Onaga told a press conference of the move to block work to reclaim land from the sea to build a coastal airstrip to replace the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in the city of Ginowan. The central government resumed preparatory tasks Saturday for the land reclamation after a month-long suspension for talks with the prefecture that failed to resolve the standoff. Tokyo's firm stance to continue with the plan to relocate the base within Okinawa "is extremely regrettable," said Onaga, who was elected governor in November 2014 on a platform of opposition to the plan. He said his decision "will be the first step to prevent construction of a base at Henoko by every measure." Henoko in the city of Nago is the cape where the base is to be transferred. With the decision, the prefectural government will take procedures to formalize the revocation as early as October. But with the central government expected to take countermeasures, the two sides will likely become embroiled in a court battle. Speaking at a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the government sees "no legal flaws" in the approval for landfill work given in 2013 by then Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima. Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine welcomed Onaga's remarks on the revocation procedures as representing "a natural action to stick to his beliefs against the central government that is ignoring public opinion." "I would like to support the governor as much as possible to block the base's relocation (to Henoko)," Inamine told reporters at his office.