Tokyo asked Washington to return some military sites in Okinawa at an early date during the latest bilateral talks Monday on redeploying U.S. Marines in the Asia-Pacific region, Japanese officials said.

The request to return part of Camp Zukeran and the Makiminato Service Area was made in connection with a U.S. plan to move about 4,700 marines in Okinawa to Guam, ahead of the contentious relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to another part of Okinawa Island, the officials said.

Under the existing bilateral accord, the return of six facilities and land occupied by the U.S. military south of the U.S. Air Force Kadena base is tied to the relocation of the Futenma base.