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2018 October 31 - November 6 [POLITICS]

Land Minister issues decision to allow Henoko landfill work to be resumed

Land Minister Ishii Keiichi on October 30 issued a decision in favor of the Defense Ministry’s Okinawa Defense Bureau calling for a temporary suspension of the Okinawa Prefectural government’s revocation of the Henoko landfill approval. The Defense Ministry plans to resume the landfill work within a week.

In reaction to the Land Minister’s decision, Okinawa Governor Tamaki Denny, during his business trip to Tokyo, said to the press that he will take countermeasures without delay.

The governor referred to the fact that the Land Minister made his decision in just five days after the prefectural government submitted to the ministry a 220-page written argument against the defense bureau’s request. He criticized the minister’s decision as unfair and partisan and for trampling on Okinawans’ anti-base position expressed in the September gubernatorial election. Tamaki said, “I feel considerable resentment against the Abe government which pushes forward with the construction of a U.S. base in Henoko by distorting the principle of the Administrative Complaint Review Act.”

Governor Tamaki pointed out that despite the Land Minister’s interruption to the prefectural government’s retraction of the Henoko landfill permission, the Okinawa Defense Bureau is still obliged to hold prior consultation with the prefecture regarding landfill-related matters such as environmental protection and preservation. He added that it is totally unacceptable for the national government to resume the reclamation work and pour earth and sand into the landfill area without prior consultation.

Past related articles:
> 'All Okinawa' candidate wins reelection as Naha City mayor [ October 22 & 23, 2018]
> State launches attack on Okinawa’s revocation of Henoko landfill approval [ October 18, 2018]