Japan is examining potential sites for new U.S. military bases to relocate American troops stationed on the southern island of Okinawa, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Friday. Under a mutual security pact, about 58,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed in Japan, two-thirds of them on Okinawa, about 1,000 miles southwest of Tokyo. Residents of Okinawa have long complained about noise from U.S. military aircraft and alleged crimes committed by American soldiers. Last month, Koizumi raised the possibility of moving the U.S. military from Okinawa during a summit with President Bush in New York. "The government will consider areas where the U.S. bases can be relocated, consult with local governments and make a proposal to the United States," Koizumi told a gathering of Japanese newspaper executives. He did not specify which cities were being considered.
Despite the tensions on Okinawa, Tokyo remains a strong supporter of the U.S. military presence and pays roughly half of the annual $8 billion cost of keeping it here. Koizumi's remarks follow a U.S. military helicopter crash in August at an Okinawa university campus that injured the helicopter's three crew members. The midday accident immediately reignited demands from local residents to move the aircraft's base, Futenma Air Station, from their congested neighborhood. |