Roundup: Tension over Okinawa's Henoko base construction intensifies

Clashes between the Japanese central government and Okinawa Prefecture over the relocation of a U.S. military base are intensifying as Japanese Fisheries Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Monday that an instruction by local governor to halt the construction work is invalid.

Prefecture Governor Takeshi Onaga last Monday ordered the Defense Ministry (MOD) bureau in Okinawa to suspend all work off the Henoko, the relocation site of the U.S. Marien Corps Futenma Air Station, saying a concrete anchor thrown into the sea for a drilling survey of the reef is believed to have damaged coral.

In response to the governor's move, the MOD in the following day submitted to Hayashi written requests to examine Onaga's instruction, and nullify it until the investigation's result is concluded, based on the administrative appeal law.

Hayashi on Monday suspended Onaga's instruction, saying "a major delay in the work could affect trust between Japan and the United States and hurt their defense and diplomatic ties while the two nations try to push forward with the long-stalled relocation plan."

Japan and the United States have signed a bilateral accord to build a replacement facility off the Henoko district of Nago for the Futenma Air Station, located in the densely populated city of Ginowan. But the Okinawa prefectural government and residents there hope to move the base outside the prefecture.

Thus, the decision, which will enable the MOD's bureau in Okinawa to continue its work, has angered local residents, prompting about 100 citizens to stage a protest in front of the U. S. Marine's Camp Schwab adjacent to the planned reclamation site.

Some of the protesters called the decision an "outrageous act that ignores the sentiments of prefectural residents," and they voiced support for the governor. "It's questionable whether the review was conducted in a proper and fair manner," Onaga told reporters in a press conference later on Monday, referring to the procedure that the fisheries ministry checks the validity of the requests filed by the MOD's local bureau.

The governor also mentioned that Futenma base relocation opponents have won the Nago mayor election, Okinawa's gubernatorial election and lower house of parliament election in Okinawa area, "This is a clear evidence of the willing of people," he said. "We will take full account of local residents."

Onaga won gubernatorial election in November after pledging to block the planned base relocation, beating his predecessor Hirokazu Nakaima who had approved landfill work necessary for the relocation.

However, he has received a cool reception since took office by the Abe government. The 64-year-old Onaga has visited Tokyo twice but has not had a chance to talk to Abe.

Hayashi will hand down a verdict on Onaga's instruction after hearing opinions from Okinawa by April 23 in line with the law of administrative tribunals. But the suspension of Onaga's instruction on Monday has made it unlikely that the governor would be able to revoke the work permit granted to the defense bureau.

However, if the minister does not heed the request of the prefectural government, the governor may begin a legal procedure to have the minister's verdict nullified. In the case the permit were revoked, the defense bureau might well bring the case to court, further complicating the process of the envisaged Futenma relocation. Endi