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Japan's Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Keiichi Ishii filed a lawsuit Tuesday with the Naha branch of the Fukuoka High Court, demanding that Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga officially retract his decision to revoke a permit granted for landfill work for the relocation of a U.S. air base.
Ishii had initially urged Onaga, the latter a staunch opponent of the relocation of the controversial U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from Ginowan in Okinawa to the coastal Henoko region, also on the island, to follow a strong recommendation to retract his revocation of the permit granted by his predecessor, but Onaga has stood firm on the issue.
Onaga, with an unwavering stance in the face of increasing pressure from the central government to have him conform to their wishes, became governor of Japan's southernmost prefecture on a pledge to block the base's relocation in a bid to ease the islanders' base hosting burdens.
Okinawa hosts the majority of U.S. bases in Japan and has done so since WWII, despite its tiny landmass compared to the mainland.
If the court finds in favor of the central government's lawsuit, Ishii will be able to overturn Onaga's decision to block the base' s move, and he has gone as far as to tell reporters Tuesday that he felt Onaga's moves have been "illegal" and not in the best interests of the safety of the public.
The first court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 2. with the high court expected to hand down a ruling in January at the earliest.
Onaga, when asked to comment on the situation, told local media Tuesday that he was "beyond words" and could not express his feelings although he said he would comprehensively respond to the latest move by the central government.
Onaga believes that the central government is in violation of local autonomy laws and vice versa and the ongoing feud between the central and local governments is likely to escalate further as the Okinawa government has itself filed a complaint with the Central and Local Government Dispute Management Council over Ishii' s suspension of Onaga's revocation of the permit, deemed by the governor to contain legal flaws.
If the council doesn't side with Okinawa, the prefectural government will itself take its case to the high court.
Japan's top government spokesperson on Tuesday said that Onaga had left the government with no choice but to sue Onaga.
He said the Futenma base is dangerous and that the landfill work is necessary for its relocation, maintaining the central government's stance that relocating the base within Okinawa remains the only option, despite vociferous opposition from its citizens.
The latest feud is the most serious between Okinawa and the central government since a court battle ensued 20 years ago after Okinawa's then governor Masahide Ota refused to allow the U.S. military to continue using a piece of land for its activities.
For Washington's part, officials will be growing increasingly vexed with the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as the leader himself has given his assurance that the base move would go ahead as per a bilateral pact between the two countries. The planned relocation, Washington hoped, was supposed to be predicated on the acceptance and understanding of the people of Okinawa.
Onaga, however, true to his electoral stance, is keeping the hopes of Okinawans alive by maintaining his unwavering stance that the base be relocated outside the tiny island prefecture, or out of Japan altogether.
