NAHA, OKINAWA PREF.- Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga on Wednesday unveiled a plan to raise a fresh lawsuit against the Japanese government to block the ongoing landfill work in the prefecture's Henoko area, where a US military base is planned to be moved from another location in the prefecture.

The governor also said the prefectural government will simultaneously ask a court to order a temporary suspension of the landfill work before it issues a ruling.

"I work with a firm resolve to meet my campaign pledge not to allow the construction of a new military facility in Henoko," Onaga stressed at a press conference.

Onaga is poised to file the lawsuit as early as next month, after gaining the prefectural assembly's approval for a related bill during a session to start on June 20.

The prefecture plans to claim that the national government has not applied to renew a necessary permission from the governor for reef destruction in Henoko after it expired at the end of March. (Jiji Press)