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Japan PM suspends work on US base on Okinawa, agrees to talk Japan PM agrees to talk with Okinawa over US base relocation
(35 minutes later)
TOKYO — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to suspend work on moving a U.S. Marine base and talk about the contentious relocation on the southern island of Okinawa. TOKYO — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday he has decided to temporarily suspend preliminary work on moving a Marine Corps base on Okinawa and talk about the contentious relocation plan.
Abe said Friday he is accepting a court proposal not to force the land reclamation work over Okinawa’s objections. Both sides have sued each other over the base relocation plan, and a court in February made the proposal as an interim step allowing the sides to talk. The government and opponents of the base relocation have been locked in a legal battle, where both sides have sued each other.
Abe said the government’s plan to move the Futenma air station to the town of Henoko is unchanged. The relocation is based on a 20-year-old bilateral agreement to reduce the burden of the U.S. military presence on Okinawa. Abe said that his government is accepting a court proposal not to force the reclamation work over Okinawa’s objections. The court in February made the proposal as an interim step allowing talks. Details of the proposal were not made public.
Opponents want the base moved off Okinawa entirely. Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga last year issued an order to suspend permission for the reclamation work. Then the central government sued to reverse the order, to which Okinawa counter-sued, seeking a court injunction.
The work involves filling in part of a bay to create off-coast runways for Futenma air station, which is now in a more densely populated area.
Abe said the plan to eventually move the base to the town of Henoko is unchanged. The relocation is based on a 20-year-old bilateral agreement to reduce the burden of the U.S. military presence on Okinawa.
Opponents want the base moved off Okinawa entirely, and a prospect for a compromise is still unclear.
The sudden reversal of the central government’s policy to continue with the reclamation work is seen as a vote-buying attempt ahead of this summer’s parliamentary elections.
Abe said he wants to avoid leaving the situation deadlocked “for years to come, a development that nobody wants to see.”
He said his government will proceed with talks with Okinawa “toward an amicable settlement” under the court’s proposal. Okinawa has agreed to accept the proposal, and is expected to drop the lawsuit.
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Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.