The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday appointed a former top official from the Okinawa Prefectural Government to help deal with the contentious relocation of a key U.S. Marine Corps base amid growing tensions over the issue.
Susumu Matayoshi headed the Okinawa governor's office under former Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima, who lost to current Gov. Takeshi Onaga in last November's election after endorsing the Japan-U.S. plan to relocate the Futenma air base within Okinawa.
Matayoshi, who will provide advice on the matter to the ministry, is said to be well versed on the issue, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference to confirm the appointment.
The move comes amid heightened tensions between the central and local governments over the planned relocation, with Fisheries Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Monday overruling Onaga's order for the Okinawa Defense Bureau to halt work at the relocation site.
Matayoshi, who joined the prefectural government in 1979 and headed the governor's office for nearly five years until January, was in charge of negotiations with the central government to reduce Okinawa's burden of hosting the bulk of U.S. military installations in Japan.