The United States and Japan reached an agreement to withdraw approximately 9,000 Marines from Okinawa. Under the deal, around half of the Marines will be relocated to bases in Guam, while others will move to Hawaii and Australia. The agreement aims to reduce the U.S. military footprint in Japan and ease tensions between American forces and Okinawan residents that have existed since World War II over issues like crime committed by U.S. personnel. While no timeline was given, the U.S. and Japan said the relocations would be completed as soon as possible.

1. U.S.-Japan deal withdraws 9,000 Marines from Okinawa - CNN Page 1 of 1
U.S.-Japan deal withdraws 9,000 Marines
from Okinawa
April 26, 2012 | From Bob Kovach, CNN
MILITARY PERSONNEL
Thousands of Marines and their families will be transferred off Okinawa under an agreement that will
reduce the American military footprint in Japan, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said late
Thursday.
Under the agreement, some 9,000 Marines belonging to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force will be
moved off Okinawa, with roughly half being reassigned to bases in Guam, according to a joint
statement released by the U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee.
"I am very pleased that, after many years, we have reached this important agreement and plan of
action," Panetta said.
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The announcement by the committee, which included key U.S. and Japanese defense officials, ends
years of seesaw talks aimed at cutting the American presence on the island south of Tokyo.
Though no exact timetable was given to transfer the Marines, preparations are under way at Guam, a
U.S. territory.
"Recognizing the strong desires of Okinawa residents, these relocations are to be completed as soon
as possible while ensuring operational capability throughout the process," the statement said.
Marines from the island will also be sent to Hawaii and Australia, where the U.S. military is working to
increase its presence.
It's hoped the reduction of forces on the island will reduce the friction between locals and military
personnel that has been exacerbated in recent years by misunderstandings and isolated criminal acts
by American personnel.
The call for the U.S. military to leave Okinawa escalated following the 1995 rape of 12-year-
-old
12-year-old
Japanese girl by three U.S. military personnel, a crime that shocked Japanese sensibilities.
A year later, the Washington and Tokyo signed an agreement to reduce the amount of land being
occupied by U.S. forces.
By 2006, both sides reached an agreement that would relocate thousands of Marines off the island
once the Marine Corps Air Station at Futenma was closed and relocated. That plan stalled after
widespread protests over proposed locations for the new air base on Okinawa.
Futenma is not addressed under the agreement announced Thursday to move the Marines.
About 40,000 U.S. military personnel are based in Japan, with more than three-quarters of the troops
based in Okinawa.
The U.S. military has had an almost continuous presence on Okinawa since 1945.
The Battle of Okinawa, which lasted 82 days from late March through June 1945, was the last major
campaign for U.S. forces in the Pacific during World War II.
Okinawa has been a major launching point for U.S. forces over the years, and much of the U.S.
assistance to last year's Japanese earthquake was launched from the bases.
http://articles.cnn.com/2012-04-27/asia/world_asia_japan-us-okinawa_1_okinawa-futenma-... 6/6/2012