Okinawa urges new minister to reduce US base burden

March 3, 2018

Naha, Okinawa Pref.- Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga urged Japan's new Okinawa affairs minister on Saturday to reduce the southern Japan prefecture's burden of hosting US military bases.

The Japanese government should work on reducing the US military presence in Okinawa, Onaga told the minister, Teru Fukui, in a meeting at the prefectural office in Naha, Okinawa's capital.

Onaga submitted written requests to Fukui demanding the central government abandon its plans to relocate the US Marine Corps' Futenma air station within the prefecture and do more to prevent accidents involving US military aircraft.

Onaga and Fukui met for the first time since Fukui assumed the ministerial post on Tuesday to replace Tetsuma Esaki, who stepped down for health reasons.

Fukui told Onaga that he will take steps to make Okinawa more prosperous, but he did not mention the issue of the US military presence. Jiji Press