By Gozde Bayar
The Japanese government has decided to approve a modified plan for landfill work to relocate a key US military base within Okinawa next week, bypassing the local government, which appears poised to defy a court order mandating the approval, local media reported on Saturday.
Land Minister Tetsuo Saito is expected to approve the plan by proxy on Thursday, marking the first such move by the central government on behalf of a local government, Kyodo News said, citing central governmental "sources with knowledge of the matter."
Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki must approve the plan by Monday, as failure to approve the project constitutes a violation of the law, and it would be difficult to rectify the situation other than through approval by proxy, the news agency said, citing the Fukuoka High Court's Naha branch statement on Wednesday.
The modifications involve reinforcing soft ground at the coastal Henoko area in Nago, the relocation site for US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which is now located in densely populated Ginowan, it said.
If the Okinawan government does not approve the plan, Saito, after informing the governor, can approve it in place of Tamaki under the Local Autonomy Act.
Okinawa hosts a majority of the US military’s facilities in Japan.
In 1996, Japan and the US agreed on a relocation plan aimed at returning the land occupied by the airfield, and in 1999, Tokyo selected Henoko as the relocation site.
Nevertheless, residents of Okinawa, which hosts the majority of US military facilities in Japan, continue to oppose the relocation.
The local government is considering appealing to the Supreme Court, which it must do by Wednesday, although it cannot halt work at the site unless the top court overturns the lower court's ruling, said Kyodo News.