Okinawa Prefecture is scrambling to plot its next move in the wake of a recent Supreme Court ruling siding with the central government's effort to relocate the operations of a U.S. military base within the prefecture despite fierce local opposition.
Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga was forced by the ruling to withdraw his action to block work to replace U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, in the city of Ginowan, with a new airstrip at the Henoko coastal area of Nago farther north on Okinawa Island. Onaga is now testing the limits of his authority in preparation for what is being seen as the second stage in the battle against the central government.
The Okinawa Defense Bureau is meanwhile poised to start soon the main construction work at the replacement site, as the ruling gave the green light to fill in offshore areas to accommodate runways extending offshore at the Henoko replacement airstrip.