The U.S. consul general in Okinawa on Friday called local opposition to a plan to relocate a key U.S. base within the prefecture "just one small part of the larger reconsolidation plan" of American forces in the country.
Local opinion is "a very important and serious issue, but it's just one small part" of the military realignment in Japan that is aimed at reducing the burden on Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S. forces, and strengthening the alliance between the two countries, Joel Ehrendreich, the consul general at the U.S. Consulate in Naha, said in a recent interview.
"I don't mean that the issue itself is small," Ehrendreich said, but added, "That it's just one part of a much broader relationship" that the United States has with Japan and with Okinawa.