[ISL] "Tokyo sues Okinawa in US base relocation dispute"

[rfmcdonald]

Al Jazeera America notes ongoing tensions between the Japanese government and the island of Okinawa over American bases there.

The Japanese government took the local government in Okinawa to court Tuesday, launching a legal battle in their longstanding dispute over the planned relocation of a U.S. military air base on the southern island.

A lawsuit filed in a regional high court in Okinawa seeks an injunction to overturn Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga's recent decision to cancel a previously issued approval for land reclamation work for the base relocation.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and local officials have been at loggerheads for months over the base’s relocation, sparking protests from tens of thousands around Japan concerned about the base’s impact on the local economy and environment.

Tokyo wants to move the U.S. Marines' Futenma base to a less developed area on the island called Henoko, but many Okinawa residents — whose home was the site of bloody battles near the end of World War II — resent hosting the U.S. military at all.