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A clash between Japan's central government and Okinawa island, host to the bulk of U.S. troops in Japan, deepened on Monday when the southern island's governor ordered a halt to underwater work at the site of a planned relocation of a U.S. Marine base. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government and Okinawa have been on a collision course since anti-base conservative Takeshi Onaga was elected governor last November and ruling party candidates were trounced in a December general election. A summit with President Barack Obama is expected to highlight Washington's approval of Abe's more muscular security policy amid concerns about rising Chinese influence in the region. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference the defense ministry was examining the documents from the governor but that the very fact he had taken this step was "extremely regrettable" since the work had previously been approved by the prefecture.More...