The governor of Okinawa has taken his effort to prevent the construction of a new US military site in Japan to a key United Nations human rights body, arguing that democracy and self-determination are threatened because his constituents oppose it.

"Okinawa is a small place; it is challenging to discuss with both Japanese and US governments when our rights of self-determination are not respected," he said, adding that he would like the world to know about this issue.

Takeshi Onaga said he's the first Japanese governor to appear before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. He wants to put an international spotlight on US Marine Air Station Futenma, which is slated to move to a less-developed area on Okinawa called Henoko.