Futenma Air Station: The New Dugong Lawsuit: Stop the Relocation of the Base

[unhappycamper]

http://watchingamerica.com/News/226386/the-new-dugong-lawsuit-stop-the-relocation-of-the-base/



Futenma Air Station, Japan

The New Dugong Lawsuit: Stop the Relocation of the Base
Ryukyu Shimpo, Japan
By Editorial
Translated By Katie Tremmel
10 November 2013
Edited by Gillian Palmer

On the issue of the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station, Okinawa plaintiffs seeking the protection of the dugongs living in Henoko Bay in Nago City — a Japanese national monument — are moving forward with their plan to file a new lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

If the construction of the landfill is allowed to begin, the U.S. government seeks to prohibit the entry of Japanese officials to U.S. military facilities. The Japanese government aims to take the U.S. military’s complete control of the bases — based on the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) — and use it against the U.S. in order to stop the landfill. While this may not be an ideal course of action, the new lawsuit is simply the only effective option that remains now that all other legal means have been exhausted.

The foundation of the new lawsuit is the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The NHPA establishes that, in the event that the U.S. government has a direct impact on the cultural assets of another country, the U.S. must take into consideration the impact those actions will have.

The plaintiffs believe that once the court forces the U.S. Department of Defense to comply with the NHPA, it will be possible to both stop the U.S. military from blocking entry to bases for Japanese government officials and to suspend the plans for the landfill, which threatens the survival of the dugong.