The central government last week finalized a basic plan for the largest-ever realignment of U.S. forces stationed in Japan -- more than three years after Japan and the United States started consultations on the plan. It includes relocation of the heliport functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in urban Ginowan in the central part of Okinawa Island. It calls for swift implementation of realignment projects and the completion of all of them by the end of 2014.
But there is no guarantee of smooth implementation. The central government is likely to have a hard time gaining the support of local governments affected by the plan, as indicated by Okinawa Prefecture's opposition to Tokyo's decision.
The alignment plan is not just about moving U.S. military facilities to other places, such as relocating some 8,000 U.S. Marines and 9,000 dependents from Okinawa to Guam. It is also designed to strengthen the U.S. capability to deal with military contingencies far away from Japan and to further integrate the capabilities of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces with U.S. strategy and functions.