Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to engage in a one-month dialogue in his latest bid to halt the ongoing construction work to build a replacement facility for a key U.S. air base within the prefecture.

Tamaki made the request after winning renewed backing from locals in his fight to stop the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma through a recent prefectural referendum. He also told Abe that the Okinawa Prefectural Government will withdraw an appeal filed with the top court over a lawsuit seeking suspension of the work.

"I want to create an environment for dialogue, rather than continuing legal battles," the governor told reporters after a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.