July 17, 2015

After receiving a third-party panel’s report acknowledging flaws in the former governor’s approval of a reclamation project for a new U.S. base in Henoko, Okinawa Governor Onaga Takeshi on July 16 said that he will consider rescinding the approval.

If the approval is rescinded, the landfill project will be regarded as illegal and the central government will have to put a halt to the project without delay.

The Okinawa government in February set up the third-party panel consisting of six experts including lawyers and scholars of administrative law and environmental conservation law. The panel held meetings two or three times a month to determine whether Onaga’s predecessor properly examined the central government’s application for the reclamation work before giving his approval.

The panel re-examined the reclamation application to see if it really meets the requirements for approval set by the public water area reclamation law. The panel in its report pointed out that the project application fails to comply with the legal requirements, citing that the need for the reclamation project is not specified and that environmental protection measures are insufficient. The panel concluded that the former governor’s approval to this reclamation project contains serious flaws.

Based on this report, Governor Onaga will reportedly begin preparation for rescinding the approval. If the governor decides to do that, the central government will probably resort to legal actions.

Past related article:
> Okinawa governor will check for errors in process of approving Henoko reclamation work [January 27, 2015]