YAMAGUCHI (Kyodo) The city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, gave official notice Sunday it will hold a plebiscite March 12 to ask citizens whether they will accept a plan to increase the number of U.S. aircraft based there.
The results will be nonbinding, but a city ordinance requires the mayor and the municipal assembly to respect the outcome. If turnout is less than 50 percent, the poll will not be valid and the votes will not be counted.
Mayor Katsusuke Ihara called for the plebiscite Feb. 7. The city, with a population of 107,000, hosts the U.S. Marine Corps' Iwakuni Air Station, and is among a number of municipalities affected by the planned realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. Iwakuni will be the first to hold a vote on the issue.