Okinawa Governor Approves Plan For Relocation of US Marine Base

Breaking campaign pledge to have it removed

The governor of the southern Japanese island of Okinawa has approved the relocation of a U.S. Marine Corps air station to reclaimed land along the coast, breaking a campaign promise to have it removed from the island.

An Okinawan official confirmed Friday that Governor Hirokazu Nakaima approved the Japanese Defense Ministry's application to reclaim land for a new military base on Okinawa's coast. It would replace the U.S. Marine Corps base in Futenma, a more congested part of Okinawa's main island.