Indian Defence Forum
Thousands rally against US base in Japan
TOKYO: Thousands of people rallied in southwestern Japan on Saturday to protest against a government plan to move part of an unpopular US airbase to Kagoshima prefecture.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has faced heavy criticism since he backtracked Tuesday on an election pledge made last year to move the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma entirely off the larger island of Okinawa in the far south.
Instead, the centre-left leader conceded that most of the American base operations will have to be moved within Okinawa, as originally agreed by previous conservative governments in Washington and Tokyo in 2006.
As part of his effort to "ease the burden" on Okinawa, Hatoyama is still considering moving 1,000 Marines and their aircraft from Futenma to Tokunoshima, a remote island in Kagoshima prefecture.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=104396
TOKYO: Thousands of people rallied in southwestern Japan on Saturday to protest against a government plan to move part of an unpopular US airbase to Kagoshima prefecture.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has faced heavy criticism since he backtracked Tuesday on an election pledge made last year to move the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma entirely off the larger island of Okinawa in the far south.
Instead, the centre-left leader conceded that most of the American base operations will have to be moved within Okinawa, as originally agreed by previous conservative governments in Washington and Tokyo in 2006.
As part of his effort to "ease the burden" on Okinawa, Hatoyama is still considering moving 1,000 Marines and their aircraft from Futenma to Tokunoshima, a remote island in Kagoshima prefecture.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=104396