Abe suspends Okinawa base relocation

PeopleholdbannersastheylistentoaspeakerduringarallyagainstanewUSmilitarybaseinOkinawa,Japan'snouthernmostprefecture,infrontoftheNationalDietinTokyoonFeb21,2016.(AFPPHOTO/ToruYAMANAKA)

(ASSOCIATEDPRESS)Japan'sPrimeMinisterShinzoAbesaidFridayhehasdecidedtotemporarilysuspendpreliminaryworkonmovingaMarineCorpsbaseonOkinawaandtalkaboutthecontentiousrelocationplan.

Thegovernmentandopponentsofthebaserelocationhavebeenlockedinalegalbattle,wherebothsideshavesuedeachother.

AbesaidthathisgovernmentisacceptingacourtproposalnottoforcethereclamationworkoverOkinawa'sobjections.ThecourtinFebruarymadetheproposalasaninterimstepallowingtalks.Detailsoftheproposalwerenotmadepublic.

OkinawaGov.TakeshiOnagalastyearissuedanordertosuspendpermissionforthereclamationwork.Thenthecentralgovernmentsuedtoreversetheorder,towhichOkinawacounter-sued,seekingacourtinjunction.

Theworkinvolvesfillinginpartofabaytocreateoff-coastrunwaysforFutenmaairstation,whichisnowinamoredenselypopulatedarea.

AbesaidtheplantoeventuallymovethebasetothetownofHenokoisunchanged.Therelocationisbasedona20-year-oldbilateralagreementtoreducetheburdenoftheUSmilitarypresenceonOkinawa.

OpponentswantthebasemovedoffOkinawaentirely,andaprospectforacompromiseisstillunclear.

Thesuddenreversalofthecentralgovernment'spolicytocontinuewiththereclamationworkisseenasavote-buyingattemptaheadofthissummer'sparliamentaryelections.

Abesaidhewantstoavoidleavingthesituationdeadlocked"foryearstocome,adevelopmentthatnobodywantstosee."

HesaidhisgovernmentwillproceedwithtalkswithOkinawa"towardanamicablesettlement"underthecourt'sproposal.Okinawahasagreedtoaccepttheproposal,andisexpectedtodropthelawsuit.