The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in favor of the central government in its dispute with Okinawa over the Futenma base relocation, likely allowing the controversial construction plan to resume.

Although not unexpected, the decision is another slap in the face for the Okinawa Prefectural Government. On Monday, the U.S. military resumed Osprey flights, despite the prefecture's objection, after grounding the tilt-rotor transport aircraft last week following a crash-landing off Okinawa.

The Supreme Court's decision also marked an end to the legal fight that followed Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga's revocation of his predecessor's approval for land reclamation work. This landfill work is part of the project to relocate the U.S. Futenma base from a crowded residential area in Ginowan to the less populated Henoko coastal area of Nago.