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Okinawa Governor Urges US to Cut Forces on Island
Japan's Okinawa Governor Keiichi Inamine urged the United States here on Thursday to cut its military forces on the island.
"We question why such extensive military bases must be stationed in Japan and we have a very strong feeling toward the excessive military presence," Inamine said Thursday in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank based in Washington DC.
According to agency reports, Inamine and other top Okinawan officials were in Washington to plead their case for a reduction of US military personnel on the island and for a 15-year time limit on the US military's use of a new airport to be built at Nago in the southernmost Japanese prefecture.
The Japanese officials, who had met here with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, his deputy Richard Armitage and other US officials, also insisted on a relocation of the sites for training and exercises of the more than 15,000 U.S. Marines on Okinawa.
Senior U.S. officials said they would "give careful consideration" to Okinawa's demands and consult with the Japanese government. But they made no commitment to any of the demands raised by Inamine and other Okinawan officials.
Located 1,000 miles (about 1,600 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo, Okinawa is home to half of the 47,000 U.S. military forces stationed in Japan. But local residents have often sought a reduction in U.S. military presence, complaining of crime by U.S. servicemen, crowding on the island, environmental issues and other problems.
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