U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy arrives in Okinawa Tuesday for a highly anticipated visit that will center on the U.S. military presence and the unpopular relocation of a Marine base within the prefecture.
While scheduled to meet with Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima, senior local business leaders who support the relocation of Futenma air station to the Henoko district of Nago, and members of the U.S. military and their families, Kennedy is also sure to encounter anti-base demonstrators.
The trip comes about a month and a half after Nakaima caused an uproar by approving a landfill project for the partially offshore Henoko replacement base, and just over three weeks after incumbent Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine, who strongly opposes the base, won re-election.