Roundup: Okinawa chief to rescind approval for unpopular U.S. base move due to legal flaws

Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga said on Monday that he will revoke previous approval granted for land reclamation as the prefectural government in Japan's southernmost part continues efforts in blocking the relocation of a controversial U.S. airbase within the island.

Onaga, a staunch opponent of the accord between Japan and the U. S. to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station from the densely populated region of Ginowan, to the coastal Henoko region, told local media that the decision had been made to repeal approval for landfill work based on a legal flaw found in the approval process.

"It has been recognized that the approval has defects," Onaga was quoted by local media as saying at a news gathering earlier Monday.

"Tokyo's firm stance to continue with the plan to relocate the base within Okinawa is extremely regrettable," the governor continued, adding that this move would be a significant step towards preventing the construction of the new base at Henoko.

Prefectural officials in Okinawa also said they would swiftly move ahead with the new edict with an eye on having formalized all legislative steps by October, including hearings with the Okinawa Defense Bureau, who is responsible for the construction work, slated for Sept. 28.

The central government resumed peripheral measures for the restarting of construction work on Saturday following failed talks between central and local governments on the issue, with neither side conceding ground or willing to make compromises as the fifth and final round of talks concluded last week, in a last ditch attempt to find some common ground for both parties to move forward on.

The central government, however, is adamant that it will proceed with its plans to resume relocation work for the new base as per its original plans, despite mounting opposition from both the island's locals and officials and following no headway being made on official talks on the stalled issue between central and local governments.

Approval was originally given in Dec. 2013 by Onaga's predecessor Hirokazu Nakaima, but was found to be flawed by a third-party prefectural panel. The panel found that approval given for a seabed survey in Henoko, which has already started but remains unfinished, has legal defects.

Onaga, who has previously expressed his "strong resentment" towards Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama's renewed resolve to forge ahead with the unpopular base move, despite the mounting local opposition, is planning to force the central government to take the case to court and argue its case that the correct measures were mandated to protect the local environment of Nago's pristine Henoko coastal region.

Sources close to the matter said Monday that court action would ensure that the central government will not be able to proceed with its plans to relocate the base, fortifying the prefecture's campaign against the move and, even if the flaws are revoked, will significantly delay if not derail the central government's contentious plans.

The central government, for its part, is likely to step up its campaign by ordering the cancellation of Onaga's legal move under the prefecture's autonomy law, while the defense bureau will lean on the land ministry to probe the case with the hope of it issuing a suspension to the rescinding.

Either way, Onaga's latest step will tie the central government up in legal procedures that will impede its moves to relocate the base, sources close to the matter said on Monday.

In addition, the prefectural assembly in Okinawa, as it continues to fortify itself with growing public opposition and legislative blockades, has passed an ordinance to further hinder the central government that will govern the use of soil transported from outside the southern island prefecture and potentially prevent non-indigenous soil from being used in landfill work necessary for the preparation of the coastal Henoko site to accommodate the construction of a replacement facility for the base.

While the central government has stated there is a "big gap" on how to remove the dangers posed by the Futenma base and that it " could not" gain the understanding of the prefecture including both officials and the public, in a bid to show the central government just how much opposition they are facing, sources close to Onaga have said he is also planning to hold a referendum on the issue that could take place as early as next year, to put more pressure on Abe to find an alternative solution to the base relocation.

The prime minister has said after the deadlock couldn't be broken relocation work must recommence at the earliest possible juncture, but Onaga, true to his campaign pledges, has held firm, and has also declared that he will take the case to Geneva on Sept. 21 and 22 and will seek international support to block the base relocation, following his delivery of a speech at the UN Human Rights Council meeting. Endi