People form a "human chain" around US Air Base during protests demanding the prime minister to keep a campaign pledge to move the unpopular base off the Japanese island of OkinawaMay 20, 2010
'Japan accepts US wish in airbase row'
Japan will settle disagreements with the United States over the relocation of a controversial US airbase, mainly in pursuant to Washington's requests, reports say.
US President Barack Obama has urged Japanese Prime Minster Yukio Hatoyama to stick with the original agreement of relocating the base on Okinawa Island, signed in 2006, AFP reported.
The White House argues that the presence of US forces is crucial for the defense and stability of Japan as a country, AFP reported.
Just a day before Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's visit to Tokyo, Hatoyama has decided to accept Washington's wishes in spite of residential protests and transfer the Futenma Air Base to another part of Okinawa Island, major Japanese newspapers reported Thursday.
Relations between the two allies have been arduous since the Japanese premier pledged to move the unpopular base out of Okinawa, after winning a landslide victory in last September's presidential elections.
"This has been a reality check for Prime Minister Hatoyama … He has belatedly realized how dire situation has become," said Fumiaki Kubo, a professor of American diplomacy at the University of Tokyo, the New York Times reported.
The Futenma Air Base has long incensed Okinawa residents due to aircraft noise and air pollution, a helicopter crash and the rape of a 12-year-old girl by US troops in 1995, the BBC reported.
The new agreement will move the US Marine Corps Air Base from an urban area to Henoko on the coast of the island.
"Convincing local public opinion in Okinawa to agree to a deal will be a long, punishing process," Hiroshi Nakanishi said, a professor of international politics at Kyoto University, the Times reported.
According to AFP, Prime Minister Hatoyama will officially announce the news at a press conference on May 28.
'Japan accepts US wish in airbase row'
Japan will settle disagreements with the United States over the relocation of a controversial US airbase, mainly in pursuant to Washington's requests, reports say.
US President Barack Obama has urged Japanese Prime Minster Yukio Hatoyama to stick with the original agreement of relocating the base on Okinawa Island, signed in 2006, AFP reported.
The White House argues that the presence of US forces is crucial for the defense and stability of Japan as a country, AFP reported.
Just a day before Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's visit to Tokyo, Hatoyama has decided to accept Washington's wishes in spite of residential protests and transfer the Futenma Air Base to another part of Okinawa Island, major Japanese newspapers reported Thursday.
Relations between the two allies have been arduous since the Japanese premier pledged to move the unpopular base out of Okinawa, after winning a landslide victory in last September's presidential elections.
"This has been a reality check for Prime Minister Hatoyama … He has belatedly realized how dire situation has become," said Fumiaki Kubo, a professor of American diplomacy at the University of Tokyo, the New York Times reported.
The Futenma Air Base has long incensed Okinawa residents due to aircraft noise and air pollution, a helicopter crash and the rape of a 12-year-old girl by US troops in 1995, the BBC reported.
The new agreement will move the US Marine Corps Air Base from an urban area to Henoko on the coast of the island.
"Convincing local public opinion in Okinawa to agree to a deal will be a long, punishing process," Hiroshi Nakanishi said, a professor of international politics at Kyoto University, the Times reported.
According to AFP, Prime Minister Hatoyama will officially announce the news at a press conference on May 28.
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