Wednesday, December 21, 2016

U.S. returns 10,000 acres of Okinawa to Japan

U.S. Forces Japan announced the formal ceding of some of its territory on Okinawa to Japan on Wednesday, while protesters remained unimpressed.


A post-World War II treaty allows a buildup of U.S. defense facilities and forces on the islands of Okinawa, Japanese territory in the East China Sea. In what is billed as the largest return of U.S.-occupied territory since 1972, nearly 10,000 acres of a U.S. base will be returned to Japan on Thursday.

A ceremony in Nago, Okinawa's major city, is scheduled, and both Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy have called the handover a strengthening of relations between the two countries.

The agreement to cede territory comes with the construction, at the Japanese government's expense, of six new helipads to serve the U.S. military's Osprey MV-22 aircraft.

Opponents of the arrangement have cited environmental concerns, noise issues, concerns that the Osprey's design is inherently dangerous, and for some, a discontent with the continuing U.S. presence on the island.

The Dec. 13 crash of an Osprey last week, a flight which took off from Okinawa, heightened local worries.
 [upi.com]
21/12/16
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