Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga on Tuesday officially revoked the approval his predecessor issued to the central government for landfill work to replace a key U.S. military base within the prefecture, making the stalemate over the relocation plan likely to end up in court.

"It was recognized that there are defects in the approval. We decided that rescinding it is reasonable," Onaga said at a news conference at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office building in Naha.

At issue is a controversial plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko, a coastal region of Nago, from its current location in densely populated Ginowan.