Japan Press Weekly

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2016 March 23 - 29 [POLITICS]

Tokyo & Okinawa resume negotiations on US base construction issue

Representatives of the central and Okinawa prefectural governments held a meeting in the Prime Minister’s Office building on March 23 and agreed to continue negotiations to resolve the issue of the U.S. base construction in the Henoko coastal district.

This is the first meeting since Tokyo and Okinawa accepted the reconciliation plan on March 4 which the Fukuoka High Court proposed over the base construction case. Okinawa Governor Onaga Takeshi, Defense Minister Nakatani Gen, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide attended.

Governor Onaga said in the talks, “I want the national government to sincerely discuss the matter without continuing to assert that ‘Henoko is the only option’. I hope that the central government will be willing to compromise to solve this issue amicably.”

Both sides agreed to set up a task force to negotiate for a peaceful settlement. The prefecture called for the taking and publishing of the minutes of the task force as well as convening its first meeting in early April.

Just a couple of days after they reached the court-mediated settlement, the Abe administration directed the governor to cancel his revocation of the permission for reclamation work in Henoko. Tokyo’s stance is directly opposed to a “peaceful settlement”.

Past related article:
> Okinawa and Tokyo accept court-proposed-settlement in lawsuit over Henoko base [March 5, 2016]