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▼ Gov't Challenges Okinawa to Sue After Panel Fails to Back Governor
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TOKYO — The government on Monday challenged Okinawa Prefecture to file a lawsuit after a dispute resolution panel last week refrained from siding with Gov Takeshi Onaga in his attempt to block the transfer of a key U.S. base.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga made the call after the panel’s decision Friday effectively kept the central and prefectural governments in a stalemate over the relocation of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
A settlement mediated by the Naha branch of the Fukuoka High Court in March has halted landfill work at the Henoko district in Nago, where the government proposes to move the base from its current location in a densely populated area in Ginowan.
Based on that settlement, the state ordered Onaga to retract his withdrawal in October last year of permission for construction work. Onaga filed a complaint with the Central and Local Government Dispute Management Council in response.
But the panel refrained from judging whether it was legal for the state to issue the order, a decision Suga said Monday shows the order is “valid.”
“If Okinawa is dissatisfied with the findings, it can file a lawsuit seeking to strike down the order within one week based on the terms of the court settlement,” the top government spokesman said.
Onaga said at a press conference Saturday the prefecture does not plan to continue legal action in response to the panel’s findings, instead prioritizing talks with the central government.
It is thought the government views Onaga’s reticence as an attempt to put off the resumption of construction at the Henoko site, and hopes for a final conclusion through court action.
“Through the court settlement, the state and Okinawa Prefecture have agreed to act rapidly in order to resolve the issue,” Suga said.
But he declined to clarify whether construction work will be restarted if Okinawa does not file a suit within the legally prescribed period.
Suga reiterated the Japanese government position that the relocation of the Futenma base to the Henoko site is the only solution to address the dangers presented by the current site and in a way that does not undermine the Japan-U.S. defense alliance.
He also played down Onaga’s demand at a public demonstration in Okinawa Sunday for a fundamental revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement that governs the treatment of U.S. military and civilian base workers throughout Japan.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in the prefectural capital Naha to protest the U.S. military presence in Okinawa amid outrage at the suspected involvement of a U.S. air base worker in the alleged murder and rape of a local woman in April.
“Japan and the United States are currently discussing improvements to the application (of the SOFA),” Suga said. “The two countries are doing so with a sense of speed in order to swiftly draw up effective measures to prevent a repeat of the crime,” he said.
© KYODO
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga made the call after the panel’s decision Friday effectively kept the central and prefectural governments in a stalemate over the relocation of the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
A settlement mediated by the Naha branch of the Fukuoka High Court in March has halted landfill work at the Henoko district in Nago, where the government proposes to move the base from its current location in a densely populated area in Ginowan.
Based on that settlement, the state ordered Onaga to retract his withdrawal in October last year of permission for construction work. Onaga filed a complaint with the Central and Local Government Dispute Management Council in response.
But the panel refrained from judging whether it was legal for the state to issue the order, a decision Suga said Monday shows the order is “valid.”
“If Okinawa is dissatisfied with the findings, it can file a lawsuit seeking to strike down the order within one week based on the terms of the court settlement,” the top government spokesman said.
Onaga said at a press conference Saturday the prefecture does not plan to continue legal action in response to the panel’s findings, instead prioritizing talks with the central government.
It is thought the government views Onaga’s reticence as an attempt to put off the resumption of construction at the Henoko site, and hopes for a final conclusion through court action.
“Through the court settlement, the state and Okinawa Prefecture have agreed to act rapidly in order to resolve the issue,” Suga said.
But he declined to clarify whether construction work will be restarted if Okinawa does not file a suit within the legally prescribed period.
Suga reiterated the Japanese government position that the relocation of the Futenma base to the Henoko site is the only solution to address the dangers presented by the current site and in a way that does not undermine the Japan-U.S. defense alliance.
He also played down Onaga’s demand at a public demonstration in Okinawa Sunday for a fundamental revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement that governs the treatment of U.S. military and civilian base workers throughout Japan.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in the prefectural capital Naha to protest the U.S. military presence in Okinawa amid outrage at the suspected involvement of a U.S. air base worker in the alleged murder and rape of a local woman in April.
“Japan and the United States are currently discussing improvements to the application (of the SOFA),” Suga said. “The two countries are doing so with a sense of speed in order to swiftly draw up effective measures to prevent a repeat of the crime,” he said.
© KYODO
- June 21, 2016
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