Japan Press Weekly

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2018 October 17 - 23 [POLITICS]

Okinawa governor criticizes filing of complaint against revocation of approval for Henoko landfill

Okinawa Governor Tamaki Denny on October 17 criticized the national government for filing a complaint against the prefectural government’s revocation of the permission to reclaim the sea area off Henoko. He said that the state tramples on Okinawans’ opposition to the Henoko base construction, which was expressed in the gubernatorial election.

The Defense Ministry’s Okinawa Defense Bureau on the day filed a request with the Land Minister to suspend the Okinawa Prefecture’s decision to nullify the Henoko landfill approval. The defense authority argued that the request was made based on the Administrative Complaint Review Act.

Governor Tamaki at a press conference in the prefectural government office building referred to the meeting with Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide on October 12. The governor said that in the meeting he emphasized the fact that the majority of Okinawans oppose the Henoko project and urged the central government to sincerely hold talks with Okinawa Prefectural authorities to settle the issue. He stressed, “Only five days later, Tokyo resorted to taking countermeasures against Okinawa. The state’s insincere attitude is totally unacceptable.”

Tamaki pointed out that in the first place, the law on administrative complaints is aimed at enabling private individuals to take action to protect their rights from unjust acts taken by administrative bodies. He criticized the Abe government for using this law, saying that such a usage goes against the law’s objective and should not be tolerated in a country under the rule of law.

Tamaki noted that it is the Land Minister that will examine the Defense Ministry’s request. He said that if the Land Minister accepts the request, it will mean that a Cabinet minister used his authority unjustly.

Tamaki said that he hopes that the general public will see how high-handedly the Abe government is pushing forward with the Henoko project.

Past related articles:
> Okinawans again choose opponent of Henoko project as their governor [October 2, 2018]
> Henoko reclamation approval revoked [September 1, 2018]