Japan Govt to Act as Early as Wednesday over Okinawa Base Plan

October 17, 2018

Tokyo- The Japanese government plans to take action as early as Wednesday to counter Okinawa Prefecture's withdrawal of its approval for landfill work necessary for the relocation of a U.S. military base, informed sources said Tuesday.

The government is considering filing for a land ministry examination of Okinawa's move under the administrative appeal law, the sources said.

Okinawa withdrew the approval in late August to block the government's plan to build a military facility in the Henoko coastal area in the city of Nago to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station, located in Ginowan, another Okinawa city.

The withdrawal forced the government to suspend landfill work at Henoko.

Okinawa's move was based on the wish of the late former Governor Takeshi Onaga, who opposed the Futenma relocation plan. Onaga died of cancer on Aug. 8. Denny Tamaki, who touted himself as Onaga's successor, was elected Okinawa governor last month.

In their first meeting last week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Tamaki that there is no change in the government's plan to promote the Futenma base's relocation to Henoko.

The government took similar administrative action when Onaga canceled the landfill approval in 2015, leading to the resumption of the landfill work. Jiji Press