Iwakuni Mayor Katsusuke Ihara urged Tokyo again Thursday to withdraw the planned relocation of U.S. carrier-borne aircraft to his city after a majority of residents voted "no" on the move in a plebiscite Sunday.
"I've come to tell (the government) to seriously take to heart the plebiscite results as they reflect the residents' will," Ihara said, calling the plan "unacceptable" and "burdensome" to the local community.
After a meeting at the Foreign Ministry with Noriyuki Shikata, director of the Status of U.S. Forces Agreement Division, Ihara also met with senior officials at the Defense Agency and the Defense Facilities Administration Agency in the afternoon.