Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga has set in motion the procedure for revoking permission granted by his predecessor for landfill work to build the replacement facility for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma — a move that threatens to lead to an all-out legal battle between the prefecture and the national government. The Abe administration, which is pushing for construction of the new facility in the Henoko district off Nago in northern Okinawa, should contemplate why the governor chose this path even though his prospects in the coming legal scrap are far from certain.

The expected move, which took place last Monday, came two days after nearly a month of talks between the prefecture and the national government — during which the work at the Henoko site was suspended — broke down. The permission given in 2013 by then-Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima is necessary for the main land-reclamation work, which the national government hopes to start as early as next month. Onaga was elected last November on his promise of stopping the Henoko project.

In explaining his move, Onaga charged that the Abe administration is unwilling to understand Okinawa's long history under the weight of the U.S. military bases and the sentiments behind Okinawans' opposition to the Henoko plan. To avoid a full confrontation with Okinawa, the administration should hold more talks to listen to Okinawan sentiments with sincerity and think again about whether the Henoko plan is the only solution to removing the danger that the Futenma base, situated in the middle of the central Okinawa city of Ginowan, is posing to local residents.