Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki on Sunday called on the government to provide a concrete timetable for the transfer of U.S. Marines in Okinawa to Guam, following the recent start of the relocation.
Tamaki made the request in a meeting with Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, who reported to the governor the start of the relocation and underscored the central government's intention to redouble efforts to reduce Okinawa Prefecture's burden of hosting U.S. troops and military facilities.
A road map drawn up in 2006 on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan calls for relocating some 9,000 of about 19,000 U.S. Marines in Okinawa to areas outside Japan, including Guam.
At the meeting, held in Naha, Okinawa's capital, Nakatani told Tamaki that the first group of about a hundred Marines has started to move to Guam. "We are reaching a major milestone, and this is a very important project," the minister said.
In response, Tamaki noted that a concrete timetable for the relocation project has not been shown. "We urge (the government) to present a clear relocation plan and complete the whole relocation process as early as possible," he said.
The governor also demanded that all Marine Corps exercises conducted in Okinawa be moved out of Japan.
"We will make further efforts to reduce Okinawa's base-hosting burden," Nakatani said, reaffirming the policy of steadily proceeding with the relocation of the Marine Corps' Futenma air station in the Okinawa city of Ginowan to the Henoko coastal district in the city of Nago, also Okinawa.
Tamaki rebutted, however, saying, "We don't know when (the Futenma base relocation) will be completed, so this is a totally unpromising project."
The central government should immediately stop the Futenma base relocation work and explore a solution through dialogue with the Okinawa side, Tamaki said.
This month, the U.S. military has temporarily grounded its Osprey transport aircraft deployed in Japan. Nakatani said that Tokyo is asking the United States for detailed information about this.
Tamaki said that Japanese people, including Okinawa citizens, are increasingly concerned due to a lack of sufficient information.
Earlier on Sunday, Nakatani met with Lt. Gen. Roger Turner, commanding general of the U.S. Marine Corps' III Marine Expeditionary Force and Okinawa area coordinator.
After a U.S. Air Force serviceman belonging to the Kadena base in Okinawa was sentenced to five years in prison Friday for kidnapping and sexually assaulting an underage girl in the prefecture, Nakatani urged Turner to ensure that the U.S. military thoroughly strengthens discipline among its troops and takes serious measures to prevent a recurrence.
Nakatani also held talks with mayors of Okinawa municipalities hosting U.S. bases, including Ginowan and the city of Uruma.
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