Saturday, March 3, 2012

US, Japan to keep US military air base on Okinawa

Washington and Tokyo agreed Friday to keep a contentious U.S. Marine base in the southern island of Okinawa, reaffirming the importance of their security alliance amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula.

In a joint statement, the two allies agreed to move the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko, in a less crowded, northern part of the island. The decision is broadly in line with a 2006 deal forged with the previous, conservative Tokyo government, but represents a broken campaign promise on the part of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

Hatoyama came to office last September promising to create a "more equal" relationship with …

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