US Base in Okinawa to be Moved to a New Location

[asianobserve]

Controversial U.S. base in Japan will be allowed to move after 17-year deadlock
By Yoko Wakatsuki, CNN
December 27, 2013

(CNN) -- A Japanese governor has approved a measure to allow for the relocation of a controversial U.S. military base on Okinawa, breaking 17 years of stagnation on the base's transfer plan, the government of Okinawa said Friday

The prefecture's Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima approved a landfill proposal by the Japanese central government Friday that will permit the construction of new military facilities in a sparsely populated area.

The Futenma airbase, which is located in a highly populated area, has been unpopular with the island's residents due to crimes committed by U.S. military personnel in the past.

The stagnation of the relocation issue has been a thorn in the side of the relation between Tokyo and Washington since 1996 when the two government agreed on the original relocation plan.

Nakaima also implied that escalating tension with neighboring counties pushed Okinawa to cooperate with the central government.

"Regardless the will of the Okinawa people, the tension is heightening on international front. Okinawa needs to play a certain role for that," he said.

Okinawa administers the Senkaku islands, a flash point of territorial dispute between Japan and China. China calls them the Diaoyu islands and claims them as its territory.

Controversial U.S. base in Japan to move after 17-year deadlock - CNN.com

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