Japan Press Weekly

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2016 December 7 - 13 [POLITICS]

Supreme Court to approve controversial construction of US base in Henoko

In a lawsuit over the controversial project to construct a U.S. military base in Okinawa’s Henoko coastal area, the Supreme Court intends to issue a ruling supportive of the Abe government, Akahata reported on December 13.

In November 2015, the Abe government, to push forward with the Henoko base construction, filed with the Fukuoka High Court Naha Branch a lawsuit claiming that it is illegal for Okinawa Governor Onaga Takeshi to withdraw his predecessor’s approval of reclamation work in the sea off Henoko. In September 2016, the high court delivered a ruling in support of the central government’s argument that the planned base in Henoko is necessary. Following the ruling, the Okinawa prefectural government appealed to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court on December 12 announced that it will skip hearings and issue a ruling on December 20. This means that Okinawa will lose the court battle.

On the following day at a press conference, Governor Onaga Takeshi said that he will respect whatever judgement the Supreme Court makes, but expressed his determination to use every possible means to block the base construction.

Ashitomi Hiroshi, a co-leader of the anti-U.S. heliport council, said, “We will do our utmost to support Governor Onaga and strengthen our protest movement against the Henoko construction with the power of collective wisdom.”

Past related articles:
> Okinawa appeals Henoko case to Supreme Court [September 24, 2016]
> High court approves reclamation work for US base construction in Henoko [September 17, 2016]