Tokyo sues Okinawa in US base relocation dispute

TOKYO: The Japanese government is suing the local government in Okinawa over the planned relocation of a US military air base on the southern island, launching a legal battle in their longstanding dispute.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday seeks a court injunction to overturn the Okinawa governor’s recent cancelation of approval for reclamation work needed to relocate US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to a less-populated part of the prefecture. Many residents want the base moved off Okinawa entirely.
The government filed the lawsuit in a regional high court in Okinawa after the governor refused to follow an order from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to reinstate approval for the land reclamation.