Japan and the United States on Feb. 8 announced a joint statement to revise a 2006 agreement on realignment of the U.S. armed forces in Japan. The agreement linked (1) the transfer of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from the densely populated Ginowan in Okinawa Island to less populated Henoko on the same island and (2) the transfer of 8,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam.
The two countries have now agreed to delink the two issues.
Although the delinkage may accelerate transfer of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam and other places, there is no guarantee that the Futenma issue will be solved in the manner desired by Okinawan people. Rather, the air station may continue to operate at its current Futenma location.