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March 11, 2010

What's Behind the U.S.-Japan Base Struggle?

G. Clark, Japan Times

AP Photo

The loud dispute over the future of the U.S. Marine Air Station at Futenma, Okinawa, is puzzling. Even U.S. officialdom agrees that this base causes enormous inconvenience to the residents of Ginowan city who are forced to live alongside. Plans to have it moved have been around for years. But to where?

Even the very reasonable proposal by Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada that the noisy helicopter base functions be moved to the vast U.S. air base at nearby Kadena is rejected. There are technical problems, it is claimed. But Futenma helicopters are happily sharing the Kadena base while the Futenma landing strip is being repaired. Sources say the real problem is traditional U.S. Marine-Air Force antagonism: that the Air Force has yet to be reconciled to...

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TAGGED: Okinawa, United States, Japan, Guam, U.S. Marine-Air Force, U.S. Marine Air Station, U.S. air base, Katsuya Okada, foreign minister

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