Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Okinawa to revoke approval for controversial US base

Okinawa to revoke approval for controversial US base: The governor of Okinawa said Monday he will revoke approval for work on a US air base in southern Japan, in the latest setback to the controversial plan.

The proposal to relocate Futenma air base to the Henoko region, first mooted in 1996, has become the focus of anger among locals, who insist it should be shut and a replacement built elsewhere in Japan or overseas.

Outspoken Okinawa governor Takeshi Onaga said his government has began procedures to cancel approval, just two days after work in Henoko resumed following a month-long delay, according to the prefecture.

"We'll do our best by using every possible measure to block the construction of a new base in Henoko as promised during our election campaign," he told a press conference, adding that "defects" had been found in the approval given by his predecessor in 2013.