The land minister on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the governor of Okinawa Prefecture, seeking to proceed with the central government's modified plan for landfill work for the relocation of a key U.S. base within the prefecture.
The suit filed at the Fukuoka High Court's Naha branch is part of the central government's attempt to enable the land minister, instead of the Okinawa governor, to approve modifications to the project to reinforce soft ground at the designated relocation site of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
If the government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wins the case and Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki still does not approve the plan, land minister Tetsuo Saito can endorse it in his place.