Japan Press Weekly

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2015 November 11 - 17 [POLITICS]

Okinawa gov. rejects state ‘order’ on Henoko base issue

The Okinawa prefectural government will turn down the central government’s order to withdraw the revocation of the approval for reclamation work off the Henoko district associated with the planned construction of a new U.S. base there.

Okinawa Governor Onaga Takeshi on November 11 held a press conference at the prefectural government office building and expressed his intent to refuse the state order. He argued that his decision of revoking his predecessor’s Henoko landfill approval is completely “legitimate and reasonable”.

In response to this, the central government said that it will file a lawsuit with the Fukuoka High Court as early as the beginning of next week in order to circumvent the authority of Governor Onaga and instead authorize the central government to go ahead with the landfill work.

Onaga criticized the Tokyo response as extremely unfair in light of the principle of local autonomy. He again expressed his determination to work even harder to carry on with his commitment to halt the base construction.

Past related articles:
> Okinawa files complaint against land minister’s decision on Henoko base construction [November 3, 2015]
> Central gov’t circumvents laws to undo Okinawa governor’s revocation of Henoko landfill permit [October 28, 2015]
> Henoko landfill work forcibly commenced [October 30, 2015]
> Okinawa governor to land minister: defense bureau’s claim should be dismissed [October 22, 2015]
> Defense bureau files complaint against Okinawa governor’s decision [October 15, 2015]
> Okinawa Governor cancels landfill approval for US base construction in Henoko [October 14, 2015]