Photo/Illutration The planned relocation site for a U.S. military base in the Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, in December 2021 (Eiji Hori)

Okinawa Prefecture will likely lose two lawsuits it filed in its long-running battle to stop the government from relocating a U.S. military base within the prefecture. 

The Supreme Court is set to hand down a ruling against the prefecture on Sept. 4.

The prefecture appealed two lawsuits to the top court after the central government nullified the prefectural administration's rejection of proposed changes to the landfill work off the Henoko district in the city of Nago.

The work is ongoing to build a replacement facility for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan.

On Aug. 24, Presiding Judge Masaaki Oka of the First Petty Bench of the Supreme Court announced that he will issue a ruling in one case on Sept. 4.

Since no hearings necessary to overturn the decision will be held, the decision of the Fukuoka High Court’s Naha branch that ruled against the prefecture is expected to be upheld.

For the other case, the top court dismissed the prefecture’s appeal that day.

The lawsuits concern measures to shore up the soft seabed off Henoko in Oura Bay, which civil engineers describe as "soft as mayonnaise."

If the top court upholds the high court decision on Sept. 4, Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki will be obligated to approve the stabilizing work, which would significantly pave the way for resuming the land reclamation project.

The landfill work began in 2018.

However, after a large swath of soft sea floor was found, the Defense Ministry’s Okinawa Bureau sought a revision to the original plan in April 2020 to solidify the soft ground for the work to proceed.

But Tamaki rejected the revision in November 2021, citing “insufficient research.”

The Defense Ministry then asked the land ministry to override the prefecture’s decision based on the administrative complaint review law.

The land ministry filed a formal objection against Okinawa’s disapproval and also issued a directive to the prefecture to approve the revision.

The prefectural administration, in turn, sought to revoke the formal objection and the directive in two lawsuits.

But a high court dismissed both in March this year.

The First Petty Bench set the date for the ruling in the lawsuit over the directive.

Meanwhile, it rejected the appeal over the formal objection as the top court had ruled in similar cases in the past. 

Related News