U.S. concerns over Okinawa base plans prompt Japan to delay announcement

The Americans will not honor any agreement with Japan, the troops will stay on Okinawa. I do not think they were ever planned on leaving. Though the Americans almost got another airfield. I say all of the Marines need to leave Okinawa. The bases can be used for new industry in a enlarged tax free zone.

Completely agree with you. I'm getting sick and tired of seeing this come up in the news every couple days. Start talks, stop talks, start talks, stop talks. If it was going to happen, it would have happened by now. Okinawa is in a far better strategic location than Guam is for the Americans.

"...but that the deal would be ready before Japanese and U.S. leaders meet in Washington next week."

I'll believe that when I see it. They've already reneged on ages-long negotiations twice.

Yuri: "The Americans will not honor any agreement with Japan..."

I think you mean 'the Americans will not honor any agreement with a minority of right-wing Okinawans', because when Tokyo agrees with Americans next week (or when they capitulate later) you'll be decrying Tokyo for not listening to said hand-ful of Okinawans, and declaring that the flavour-of-the-month Okinawan governor will never allow the promises to be achieved.

If only you all understood. The US is not trying to stay in Okinawa, but when agreements are made and then Japan government decides to say no. what should be done. The US would like to move to Guam, the taxes, the cost of living etc will save Millions for both governments. But Okinawa is not as important as you all think. For a ground atack you need the us ground forces, but the air side will be destroyed to keep the aircraft on the ground. Guam is a little hard to hit but the forces could be here in a matter of hours! do some good.

The US military creates aggression. It makes the environment dangerous. The country that used to represent freedom to the rest of the world is now beginning to look more and more like North Korea. America is heading down the road of military dictatorship.

US bases in Okinawa are protecting NO ONE. They create antagonism. They also take up too much space in a small island. Why on Earth they are here in the 21st century is incomprehensible.

Okinawa is NOT a US colony.

The US military creates aggression"

No, it counters aggression.

"Okinawa is NOT a US colony"

True!

Other Prefectures should bear more of the responsibility of hosting our US forces. Okinawa is paying a high cost because of Toyko's decision not to allow the expanded use of other Prefectures.

Faraway, the agreements were made with the national government with no input from the local government. The Okinawa Prefecture does not feel they have to honor agreements made by others. Japan is not a dictatorship and the national government can not do as they please.

Oh Dude, there are not enough Marines on Okinawa to defend it against invasion.

Oh Dude, there are not enough Marines on Okinawa to defend it against invasion.

Defend? Probably not. But PREVENT? Definitely so. Even if there were only a battallion of U.S. Marines on the island, a foreign country attacking the island would be ALSO attacking those Marines and starting a war with the United States. Any country thinking about taking Okinawa (or any OTHER prefecture of Japan) has to first decide if they want to take on a superpower. That relatively small detachment of soldiers is a greater deterrent to attack than the entire JSDF.

It honestly doesn't matter where the marines are, it takes 3 to4 days to plan a ground attack mission and they can be deployed from america in less than 24 hrs, just bring them home.

The only possible reason anyone would attack Okinawa would be to take out the US bases. Without the US bases there is no threat to Okinawa. Why would anyone attack it? To corner the market on Awamori, goya and snake skin banjos?

US bases don't counter aggression, they create antagonism. China is building up its forces because of this.

YuriOtani,

Fadamor is correct in saying the marines are more of a deterrent than your weak 9-5 JSDF with its ancient falling apart aircraft and pitiful GSDF. Fact is these US troops like it or not are your best deterrent

Fadamor, there is US Air Force, Navy and Army personnel. Second please stop your comments about the Japanese Self Defense Force they are offensive to me.

First, I know there is more than a Marine battalion stationed on Okinawa. My point was that even if there was ONLY that batallion, it is still an incredible deterrent.

Second, I was unclear about your second statement: Do you find my statement offensive or the JSDF offensive? Personally, I have no ill-will towards the JSDF because they do the best that they can while hobbled under the rules of your constitution. The fact is that if they were forced to defend their country alone, they would be able to only put up a token resistance against a determined opponent. Even combined with the U.S. forces currently there, the best they could hope for would be a holding action until reinforcements from the U.S. could arrive. This is probably what the leaders of both countries decided on - what's the bare minimum to keep Japan sovereign until more help could arrive?

The Americans will not honor any agreement with Japan, the troops will stay on Okinawa.

Yuri this is blatantly wrong. The US has given back huge chunks of land back to Japanese control over the years and has planned to give back even more.

Fadamor, there is US Air Force, Navy and Army personnel. Second please stop your comments about the Japanese Self Defense Force they are offensive to me.

Can't take the heat Yuri? Your ignorant posts about the US Military are offensive to me and a lot of other intelligent people here too. So take the lead and quit posting about them too ok?

Opposition remains strong on Okinawa to construction of a new facility in the Henoko to replace on Futenma. There is no momentum in Japan to move forward with the project. Japan is intensely focused on reconstruction efforts and neither the financial nor political capital is available to push the Henoko project through. U.S. is asking whether it is worth the cost of building the new Henoko facility and the new Marine housing and facilities on Guam, when cheaper force configurations more conducive to strategic needs in Asia might be found.

It is very possible U.S. and Japan will agree to push back beyond the deadline to complete the Okinawa and Guam force structure realignment. A resolution of the Futenma issue could have implications far beyond Okinawa and US-Japan relations. U.S. is looking for major strategic shift toward greater emphasis on Asia. with more open and transparent economic and security cooperation in the region to which China has to respond. The mulitlateral security alliances in the region involves relationships from India, through Vietnam and Indonesia, to Australia, and up to Korea and Japan. Japan is already cultivating security ties with India and Vietnam, and deepening ties with South Korea.

To Fadamor (Apr. 26, 2012 - 11:09PM JST ):

So those marines are stationed in Okinawa to ultimately defend the United States of America, not Okinawa nor Japan? But I think you're right to the point. There's no doubt that those U.S. bases are fundamentally for the defense of the U.S. mainland. A hostile foreign country, if any, does not attack THE ISLAND; rather, it attacks U.S. BASES on the island and, as you allude, the United States of America.

If so, what's the reason for Okinawa to shoulder this preposterous sacrifice, the U.S. Marines maintaining 16 bases and facilities, the U.S. Air Force and the Navy 7 each, and the U.S. Army 4, occupying about 20% of the land mass of Okinawa island? Can you explain why 75% of the maintenance cost of those bases and facilities must be borne by Japanese taxpayers (that of course include Okinawans)?

The Americans will not honor any agreement with Japan, the troops will stay on Okinawa

YuriOtani, are you Okinawan? I would say you are Japanese...Seems you conveniently forget a bit of history when you start talking about the Ugly Americans.......

From the 1600s to the late 1800s, Okinawa was a vassal state of Japan. Okinawans were not allowed to speak Japanese and were considered “lesser people”. In the late 1800s the Imperial Japanese decided they wanted to subjugate Okinawa before China dis, so they moved in and took over the Kingdom of the Ryukyus. The Japanese never really considered the Okinawa people to be Japanese and even after the annexation, held a deep mistrust of them. The Japanese Army conscripted the local population to defend Okinawa during WWII, but mostly armed them with spears and knives, fearing the Okinawans would turn against them if given better weapons. It was these same Japanese Imperial armies that put the Okinawa “soldiers”, both men and women, at the front line and made them charge the American forces to draw fire. It was this same Imperial Japanese Army that gave the local population hand grenades and told them to blow themselves up because the Americans were cannibals, would torture them and make them slaves etc. When Japan surrendered at the end of WWII, it was the post war Japanese government that made backroom deals with the American government for the return of the Ryukyus, never asking the Okinawans what they wanted. It can be argued that if given the choice, the majority of Okinawans would have chosen to remain under US administration instead of reverting back to Japanese rule. So you can see not much has changed in these “modern” times. Okinawa is still a pawn for the Japanese government. If the Japanese government was serious about relieving the troop burden, they would simply grant approval to move the majority to the mainland, instead of continuing to use Okinawa as a convenient dumping ground for their leftover “lost face” from WWII.