The defiant southern region of Okinawa countersued Japan's government on Friday over local resistance to a new US military base, the latest chapter in deepening mistrust between central authorities and the strategic island.

The lawsuit by Okinawa prefecture comes after the central government sued it last month amid a long-running drama between Tokyo, keen to satisfy security ally the United States, and Okinawa, where frustration over a seven-decade US military presence is rife.

Pacifist sentiments run high on the island that accounts for less than one percent of Japan's total land area but hosts about 75 percent of US military facilities in the country.