Policy

Okinawa Governor Approves Plan For Relocation of US Marine Base

Breaking campaign pledge to have it removed

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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.