A dozen citizens of Ginowan, the current location of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, filed a suit Tuesday against Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga's decision last week to block moving the base to another part of the prefecture.
In the suit filed with the Naha District Court, they are seeking to revoke Onaga's decision and collect ¥120 million in damages, claiming the decision will force the base to remain in the crowded city, thereby infringing on their right to a life of peace.
Citing procedural errors, Onaga on Oct. 13 revoked approval granted by his predecessor, Hirokazu Nakaima, to conduct reclamation work in the Henoko area of Nago, north of Ginowan, to build a new base that will take over Futenma's functions.
The suit said that the revocation amounts to the governor abusing his authority since there were no legal irregularities concerning Nakaima's approval and that any delay in the return of land used for the base would hinder the rights of local citizens for a longer period of time.
"Are you urging citizens to shoulder further costs? If you say 'no' to the relocation to Henoko, you should come up with an alternative proposal," former Ginowan Municipal Assembly member Tadao Henza, 70, told a news conference in his role as a representative of the plaintiffs.
After Japan and the United States agreed in 1996 to move the Futenma base from Ginowan, the Japanese government decided in March 2013 to build the replacement on reclaimed land in the Henoko area.
Nakaima approved the land reclamation plan in December 2013 before Onaga won the governorship in 2014 on a pledge to block the base relocation.