Okinawa governor vows "new battle" against U.S. base relocation plan in Japan

 Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga vows on Saturday to start a new battle against the U.S. Futenma base relocation plan pushed forward by the central government and the United States.

"From this day, Okinawa's new battle begins. I will definitely not allow the construction of Henoko base," Onaga told a rally near the site for the relocation in the Henoko District of Nago city.

He also said that he would "employ all means" to scrap the land reclamation approval so as to block the relocation plan.

It was the first time that the governor participated in an anti-relocation rally since he was elected in 2014, according to local reports.

Some 3,500 people attended the rally, including Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine and lawmakers representing the island prefecture.

The rally also adopted a resolution, requiring the central government of Japan and the United States to give up their plan to relocate the U.S. Futenma base from Ginowan to the less populated Henoko coastal area of Nago.

Onaga, well known for his opposition to the plan, revoked in October 2015 an approval issued by former governor Hirokazu Nakaima for the landfill work of the relocation plan.

He was forced to withdraw his order on the site after the Supreme Court ruled late last year against the governor's attempt to revoke the land reclamation work approval.

Onaga tried to show the Okinawa people by attending the rally that he was still determined to block the relocation plan, said local reports.

Japan's central government had said that the relocation plan is "the only solution" for removing the dangers posed by the base to the crowded residential area of Ginowan without undermining the Japan-U.S. alliance.

The Okinawans, however, have called for the base to be removed from the prefecture, complaining of sufferings caused by aircraft noise, crimes committed by the U.S. servicemen as well as safety concerns.

source: Xinhua