Okinawa blocking plans for US military base
Abe government faces embarrassing stand-off as island governor orders halt to underwater construction due to environmental concerns
A rift between Japan's central government and Okinawa island, host to the bulk of US troops in Japan, deepened yesterday when the southern island's governor ordered a halt to underwater work at the site of a planned relocation of a US Marine base.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government and Okinawa have been on a collision course since anti-base conservative Takeshi Onaga was elected governor last November and ruling party candidates were trounced in a December general election.
Onaga said a concrete anchor thrown into the sea for a drilling survey of the reef at the designated site known as Henoko was believed to have damaged coral.
If those activities were not stopped within a week, Onaga said he might rescind approval for drilling operations given by his predecessor in December 2012.
Onaga said the use of concrete blocks was not part of the initial approval and was unauthorised.
He said the prefecture needed to conduct its independent survey to assess the extent of damage in the area, and demanded the Defence Bureau stop all activity related to the relocation within one week, or revoke the licence for the current drilling work, which could put the entire relocation on hold.
