The governor of Japan's Okinawa prefecture said on Monday he will move to halt work on a contentious U.S.A. air base, a headache for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a crucial time in his push to get widely opposed security bills passed.

The central government wants to move the U.S. Marines' Futenma base to another location on the southern island, but many Okinawa residents who resent U.S. military installations want to get rid of it altogether.

Okinawa governor Takeshi Onaga, who won election last year on his anti-base stand and has accused Abe of looking down on the island, said his government will revoke a permit for key landfill work that is needed to relocate the base.

The government forced the bills through the lower house of parliament in July despite massive protests. More than half of people polled on the issue oppose the bills, which would allow Japan's armed forces to defend an ally under attack, a drastic shift in Japan's post-war security policy.