The central government and the Okinawa Prefectural Government appear headed for a legal battle over the transfer of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, after the state restarted work Saturday to relocate the base within the prefecture.
The resumption of the work in the Henoko district of the coastal city of Nago came only a day after the Okinawa government finished its survey on coral damage off the relocation site.
"We needed to restart the work immediately after the Okinawa survey in order to demonstrate our strong determination on the base transfer," a senior Defense Ministry official said.
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