9 December 2015, 11:18 GMT
TOKYO (Sputnik) — In November, Japanese Minister of Land Keiichi Ishii filed a lawsuit against Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga, after the latter refused to fulfill Tokyo's recommendations on the relocation of a US base from Okinawa's highly-populated district in the city of Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area of Nago city.
Later that month, Okinawa announced it would launch a retaliatory lawsuit against the Tokyo administration in December.
The Japanese government proceeded with the relocation of the US base in Okinawa, having negated a late October regional government veto on its relocation.
According to Onaga, the prefecture's economy does not rely on the presence of US bases.
Okinawa occupies less than 1 percent of Japanese territory but hosts some 74 percent of the country's total US military presence.
