OKINAWA, Japan, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- The United States has settled a thorny issue in its strategic relations with Japan by agreeing to consolidate its Marine airborne operations on Okinawa.
The agreement will also allow for a broader realignment of more than 37,000 U.S. troops stationed on Japanese soil, The Washington Post reports.
Under the plan, the United States will relocate the Marine airborne operations from Futenma, which is near a densely populated civilian area of Okinawa, to another U.S. base on the island.
Richard Lawless, head of the U.S. delegation, had earlier indicated difficulties over Futenma had delayed a broader reshaping of the U.S.-Japan alliance, which has assumed greater significance as China assumes a more assertive stance as well as likely nuclear threat from North Korea.
The initial decision to relocate the air station was made in 1996, the report said. But the talks got drawn out because of protests against the U.S. presence stemming from the 1995 rape of an Okinawa schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen.
