24 August 2017

News Story: US court revives environment lawsuit over Okinawa base relocation

LOS ANGELES (Kyodo) -- A U.S. federal appeals court revived Monday a previously dismissed lawsuit seeking to halt the planned relocation of a U.S. Marine Corps air base within Japan's Okinawa Prefecture due to the potential impact on endangered dugong.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Center for Biological Diversity, a U.S. nonprofit conservation group, can challenge in a district court a U.S. government review that found the construction of a new base at Henoko, a coastal area in the city of Nago, would not negatively affect the Okinawa dugong.

Landfill work is currently taking place at Henoko despite opposition from local people and the Okinawa prefectural government. Opponents argue the base should be moved out of the island prefecture, which already hosts the bulk of the U.S. military presence in Japan.

U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is currently located in the middle of a densely populated residential area in Ginowan, presenting safety concerns, and the Japanese and U.S. governments say moving it to Henoko is the "only solution."

Read the full story at The Mainichi