Okinawa Head Urges Central Govt to Stop Henoko Landfill Work

March 20, 2019

Tokyo- Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki on Tuesday urged the central government to stop soil placement for the ongoing landfill work in the Henoko coastal district in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture.

Tamaki requested that no soil placement be conducted in waters near Henoko including a new section in which the government plans to start such work Monday.

He made the request in a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo to discuss the central government's plan to build a replacement military facility in Henoko to which the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan will be transferred.

Tamaki also called on the government to start talks with the prefecture on the matter.

Abe, however, replied that the government will continue work related to the relocation.

The meeting ended with the two sides apart over the matter.

The Okinawa prefectural government has appealed to the Supreme Court in its lawsuit against the central government, accusing it of conducting the landfill work illegally without the prefecture's permission to destroy rock reefs.

The prefectural government is also considering filing an additional suit against the central government for suspending Okinawa's withdrawal of its approval for the landfill work.

During the Tokyo meeting, Tamaki said he has ordered Okinawa government officials to drop the appeal made over the reef destruction.

The prefectural government may also give up the idea of filing the new lawsuit depending on Abe's actions, he indicated, seeking a compromise.

Tamaki asked the national government to discuss the base relocation issue with the Okinawa government for about a month before Emperor Akihito's abdication at the end of April.

Abe said the central government "is moving ahead" with the base relocation plan "after various discussions." He asked for the prefectural government's understanding.

Tuesday's meeting was the second talks between Abe and Tamaki this month. Jiji Press