Okinawa will lock horns with Tokyo again before a court over the relocation of the US Marine Corps' Futenma air station from a congested area of Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area of Nago.

In the lawsuit filed with Naha District Court, the prefecture claims that the central government proceeded with landfill work in the Henoko area for a new US base without renewing permission from Okinawa to crush rock reefs in the area.

Okinawa also sought a provisional injunction to suspend the work until the court hands down its ruling.

In a news conference at the prefectural government office, Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga said, "We can't allow the new base construction to proceed hastily through unauthorized acts."

But Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga suggested that the central government is set to continue the work. "We've taken the necessary legal procedures in an appropriate way," Suga told a news conference in Tokyo.

The fresh lawsuit came after Okinawa lost a legal battle with Tokyo in December last year, when the Supreme Court found illegal Onaga's decision to cancel the approval for the landfill work given by his predecessor.

Onaga has staunchly opposed the relocation plan, which is based on an agreement between the Japanese and US governments, and called for the Futenma base to be moved out of the prefecture altogether. Okinawa hosts the bulk of US ministry installations in Japan.

After Tokyo started building a revetment off the coast of Henoko in April this year, Okinawa decided to go to court over Tokyo's failure to renew the permission to crush rock reefs, which expired in March.

The central government maintains that it does not have to renew the permission as a local fishery association abandoned its fishing rights in the area.

While taking the battle to court again, the governor will also study withdrawing the landfill permission due to subsequent developments, informed sources said. The administrative measure for withdrawal will in effect nullify the approval for the land reclamation.

In response, Tokyo could take measures such as starting legal procedures to give itself the authority to allow the landfill work.

The central government is also looking at the possibility of demanding damages from Onaga. (Jiji Press)