The governor of Okinawa Prefecture sought international backing at a U.N. session Monday for his opposition to a plan to relocate a U.S. military base within the prefecture.
But Gov. Denny Tamaki's stance was immediately questioned by a Japanese government official at the venue in Geneva, a split highlighting the contention over the project based on an agreement first reached by Tokyo and Washington in the 1990s.
"I am here today to ask the world to witness the situation in Okinawa," Tamaki told a session of the world body's Human Rights Council, arguing that the concentration of the military bases there threatens peace.