The Supreme Court ruling in favor of the national government over construction of a new facility for the U.S. military in Okinawa Prefecture to replace the U.S. Marine's Air Station Futenma will not end its bitter confrontation with the prefecture that hosts the bulk of the U.S. forces in Japan. While the top court decision will oblige Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga to rescind his revocation of a local permit for the government's work to reclaim land off the Henoko area of Nago to build the new U.S. airfield, the governor has vowed to pursue other means in his power to halt the Henoko construction — which could result in more legal battles between Tokyo and the prefecture.
The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which maintains that building the new facility at Henoko is the only way to shut down the Futenma base in the middle of a residential area in Ginowan, should once again ponder the consequences of a protracted standoff with Okinawa and its impact on the operation of U.S. forces stationed there. Local frustration and anger over the disproportionately heavy burden of hosting the U.S. military was fueled again when the operation of MV-22 Ospreys deployed in the prefecture was resumed on Monday over the protests of local authorities — only six days after an Osprey crash-landed off the coast, raising doubts about the safety of the tilt-rotor transport aircraft with an accident-prone history.
The ruling given on Tuesday came as no surprise after the top court decided earlier this month to hand down its judgment without holding a hearing — a procedure needed if it was to review the September decision by the Naha branch of the Fukuoka High Court that essentially supported the national government's position and determined it was illegal for Onaga last year to revoke the landfill permit issued by his predecessor, Hirokazu Nakaima, in 2013.