A clash has deepened between Japan’s central government and Okinawa island leaders over the building of a new US troop base.<br /><br /> Local and national authorities have been on a collision course since local elections in November brought in new faces.<br /><br /> Now Okinawa’s governor Takeshi Onaga wants the project halted.<br /><br /> Local authorities say the new site at Nago will harm coral reefs and cause widespread environmental damage. <br /><br /> Delays to the plan to move the Futenma base to a less populous area of northern Okinawa could be a headache for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of his visit to the United States at the end of April. <br /><br /> Okinawa, which was not returned to Japan until 27 years after Tokyo’s defeat in World War Two, still hosts nearly 75 percent of the US military presence in Japan.
