Okinawa to Revoke Henoko Landfill Permission as Early as Fri.

August 30, 2018

Naha, Okinawa Pref.- The Okinawa prefectural government will revoke its permission as early as Friday for land reclamation in the Henoko coastal area of Nago for a planned U.S. base relocation from Ginowan, informed sources said Wednesday.

The move comes ahead of a series of local elections including city assembly polls in Nago and Ginowan, both in the southern Japan prefecture, which precede the Sept. 30 gubernatorial election.

Since Governor Takeshi Onaga died of cancer on Aug. 8, the prefectural government has been working to move forward with the late governor's plan, announced in July, to repeal the landfill permission, which had been issued by his predecessor.

Onaga was a leading opponent of the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air base, currently located in a densely populated area. He demanded that the base be moved out of Okinawa altogether.

Once the landfill permission is canceled, the Japanese government will lose legal grounds for continuing with the base project in Henoko. The central government is therefore set to file a lawsuit to invalidate the cancellation, government sources said. It may also seek damages against the prefecture over the possible suspension of new base construction work. Jiji Press