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New Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka on Monday visited Okinawa to discuss the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma base from Ginowan to Henoko, Nago, in the prefecture.
Tanaka, making his first visit to Okinawa, met Gov Hirokazu Nakaima who repeated his long-held view that the base should be relocated to a different prefecture in Japan.
Tanaka said the central government will do its best to obtain the understanding of Okinawans, but Nakaima said Tokyo is just repeating the same argument, Fuji TV reported. The governor also handed Tanaka a petition calling on the central government to ease the burden on Okinawans of hosting U.S. bases.
Tanaka said he is willing to visit Okinawa as often as possible to meet with locals in order to gain their understanding, Fuji reported.
Tokyo has failed to win the assent of Okinawans, even though the plan would reduce the U.S. military footprint on the island that hosts more than half of the 47,000 American troops in Japan. The plan also calls for shifting 8,000 Marines to Guam.
© Japan Today
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voiceofokinawa
I hope the readers of this article will visit today's Washington Post web site (http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions) and read "Message from Okinawa, Japan" -- Protest Advertising In U.S. ― The Group for Okinawa Opinion Ad Campaign.
Poor Defense Minster Naoki Tanaka, if he thinks he could convince us to relocate Futenma to Henoko with his shallow knowledge of the history and reality of U.S. bases in Okinawa. Look at the map attached there and think if the relocation of one base to another site in Okinawa can truly reduce "the U.S. military footprint on the island" as Pentagon spin doctors advertise which the article quotes without any suspect.
Jared Norman
The 31st meu will be deployed half the year outside of the region of the far east, they do not even have to be in okinawa or japan. removing them from okinawa will have no effect on security. they are just there for war
nath
How many times does Japan need to change defense ministers before they understand the locals' appeal?
The central government can't ignore the Okinawa people for long.
Takuma7
ZZZZZZZZZZ
YuriOtani
This is getting old, guess the new defense minister wanted to visit Okinawa. Hope he had a nice trip.
Marion Wm Steele
The USA military are on Okinawa as the result of a "deal" made by Hirohito and Douglas McArthur and I have the paper to prove it. Both these men are dead and Okinawa should ask the removal of all of our military w/o asking permission from Japan. Remember this war ended 67 years ago and many of you were not even born at that time. Get real and know the Ryukyuan people are just as bright as the Japanese. All of the USA military should be brought back to the States and this include 801 bases worldwide. (Hint: the USA will save over a trillion dollars.)
Ben_Jackinoff
They already have.
johninnaha
Why is the US military still occupying this island?
Please, please, just leave.
No one wants you.
Time to go home!
Marion Wm Steele
Johninnaha: John, you are right on and I refer you to a recently written book by Chalmers Johnson called "DISMANTLING THE EMPIRE I suggest our military leadership close ALL the base's all over the world (Including Okinawa and bring our boys home. Why are we waiting to be thrown out? I would also remind that we won World War 2. - WE HAVE THE HAMMER!
YuriOtani
Marion Wm Steele, we were punished by the Americans. The vast majority can not tell the difference between us and our northern cousins. So the US won the war. They won the war in Iraqi but have been kicked out 9 years after "mission accomplished". Being born a second class person in an American occupied Okinawa damaged my development as a person. Even today Americans on Okinawa have more "rights" than the local population. Again some starch collar type come down from Tokyo and says to his inferiors to accept THEIR plan. He might as well stayed in Tokyo.
Jared Norman
The fact that america still treats the okinawans as objects is a disgrace to the american servicemen. We fight to promote and defend freedom and democracy not to restrict it to anyone, anywhere.