Map of the Current Futemna Base. Via CNN/Magellan.
While President Barack Obama and Japanese PM Yukio Hayotama now address each other by their first names, cooperation between Japan and the U.S. has stalled on the location of the Okinawa Air Base. Many Okinawas have associated the presence of 36,000 U.S. troops with crime, noise, and pollution; however, Hirokazu Nakaima, the governor of Okinawa, has managed to muffle the complaints. As a result, many have placed their hopes on Hayotama to force the U.S. to relocate the air base.
U.S. Bases in Okinawa. Via NowPublic.
In response, both leaders have formed a high-level working group whose purpose is in dispute. The U.S. claims that the working group’s powers will be limited to an already planned relocation of the Futenma Marine Corps Station. These claims by U.S. officials have angered the Japanese leadership, causing Hayotama to claim that if the purpose of the group is to confirm an agreement, it is meaningless.
For more information, click here Washington Post.
For the full press conference between President Obama and PM Hayotama, click here Youtube.
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