Roundup: Japan gov't resumes US base relocation work amid public protests

Japan's central government on Thursday resumed landfill work for the relocation of a controversial U.S. military facility in the southern prefecture of Okinawa amid local opposition, as local officials geared up to take the case to court in their bid to block the base's move.

The regional chapter of Japan's Defense Ministry resumed its work to reclaim land from the sea as part of the central government's plans to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from the densely populated region of Ginowan, to the coastal region of Henoko, also on Okinawa island.

Work began early Thursday morning despite more than 100 protesters sitting on the ground at the gate to the base's construction site, in a bid to prevent more than 30 trucks entering so that work could restart, local media reported.

The protests are in support of Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga, a staunch opponent of the base relocation plans, with calls for the land ministry to uphold his revocation of a permit allowing the reclamation work to commence.

Among the protesters was Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine, whose city will host the new U.S. base when its constructed, while Onaga himself was also quoted as saying that he would continue his fight to block the base move.

"Despotic governance by the central government is at its height," the governor was quoted as telling local media.

Onaga had previously rescinded a permit granted by his predecessor for the work to continue, after an independent panel found defects in the initial approval process, but on Oct. 27 Japan's Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Keiichi Ishii decided to nullify Onaga's revoking of the permit.

This has allowed the central government through its regional defense chapter to continue with its work to reclaim land from the sea in Henoko for the base's construction, but the Okinawa prefectural government has said that it is now prepared to take the matter to court.

Onaga and other prefectural officials will continue their campaign to block the central government's relocation plans and according to sources close to the matter will file a complaint with a third-party panel who will be charged with mediating the dispute between the central and prefectural government.

Thereafter, the case may be referred to the Central and Local Government Dispute Management Council, which falls under the auspices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The defense ministry believes that Onaga's persistent attempts to block the relocation process could delay removing the risks associated with the Futenma air base, as well as adversely affect relations between Japan and the United States, as an existing pact exist between them to relocate the base.

The continued dispute between the central and prefectural government in Okinawa is a source of annoyance for Washington, as the Japanese government continues to try and appease its ally by giving its assurances that the relocation and construction of the new base will go ahead as per a previous bilateral agreement made between the two countries.

But Washington is becoming increasingly concerned that local approval for the base's move has not been given and the people of Okinawa's understanding on the issue has not been sufficiently gained. The United States had previously stated that the base's move should be predicated on the acceptance of the people of Okinawa who already host the bulk of U.S. forces in Japan.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose public popularity initially plummeted after he forcibly enacted unconstitutional war bills in a bid to expand the nation's military scope, said the building of a new base partly on reclaimed land from the waters of Oura Bay in the coastal Henoko region of Okinawa, remains the only solution for the relocation of the Futenma base.

Onaga has said, however, that Abe and the central government are "overly fixated" on Henoko as being the only solution and has, along with the local Okinawans, urged the government to look outside the tiny island prefecture and out of Japan all together for an alternative site for the U.S. base. Endit