Amid long-standing political wrangling over construction of a new U.S. base in Okinawa, the mayor of the city of Ginowan in the prefecture has said the municipality will not participate in a prefectural referendum set to be held over reclamation of land in order to build the new military facility, and has sharply criticized Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki over his neutrality on the issue.

Ginowan Mayor Masanori Matsugawa became the second municipal leader to announce that the city would not participate in the referendum, following Mayor Toshihiko Shimoji of the city of Miyakojima. The city of Okinawa has since announced that it too will abstain from the vote.

The municipal assemblies of Ishigaki and Uruma both rejected in December budget amendments that would have allocated funds needed to hold the referendum. After re-submission, both proposals were voted down again, increasing the likelihood that the two municipalities will also choose not to participate.