Defense Minister Tomomi Inada on Saturday sought support from Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga over a plan to relocate a U.S. air base within the island prefecture, even as the dispute between Tokyo and Okinawa over the issue is set to be contested in the Supreme Court.

"Moving the base to the Henoko area is the policy of Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe's government," Inada told Onaga in the prefectural capital Naha, referring to the site where the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is scheduled to be relocated despite intense opposition from Onaga and many locals.

Inada's trip to Okinawa, her first since assuming the defense post in early August, came a day after Onaga appealed a court ruling that backed the relocation plan. A U.S. fighter jet also crashed off Okinawa on Thursday, the latest in a series of accidents involving U.S. military aircraft in the prefecture. Okinawa hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan.