Okinawa Files Fresh Suit against State Govt to Stop U.S. Base Construction | Nippon.com

News from Japan

Politics Society Aug 7, 2019

Naha, Okinawa Pref., Aug. 7 (Jiji Press)--The Okinawa prefectural government filed Wednesday a fresh lawsuit against the central government in a bid to prevent the construction of a U.S. base in the southernmost Japan prefecture.

The lawsuit, filed with Naha District Court, seeks the cancellation of a decision by land minister Keiichi Ishii to nullify the prefecture's reversal of approval of landfill work off the Henoko coastal district of Nago to build a replacement facility for the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air base, currently located in Ginowan, another city in Okinawa.

The Okinawa government's legal protest against Ishii's decision, made based on the administrative case litigation law, followed a lawsuit the local government launched against the central government at Fukuoka High Court's branch in Naha, capital of Okinawa, in July seeking the reinstatement of its revocation of the approval based on the local autonomy law.

As the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has no intention to compromise, the rift between the prefectural and the central governments is expected to deepen further, observers said.

Meeting the press at the prefectural government's head office, Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki stressed that Ishii's decision is unreasonable.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]

Jiji Press

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