KYODO PHOTO
Japan Backs Down on Runway Change in US Base Plan
AsiaOne News (AFP)
May 19, 2010
Japan has told the United States it will back down in a dispute over the relocation of an unpopular US airbase and build offshore runways on landfill rather than pylons, a report said Wednesday.
In the row over the base on the island of Okinawa, Japan had proposed building the runways on pylons to minimise the impact on a marine habitat, but Washington argued this would heighten the risk of a terrorist attack.
The concession, reported by the Yomiuri Shimbun daily, would be the latest twist in a long-simmering dispute over what to do with the controversial US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, now located in a crowded city area.
To read the full story at asiaone news, click here.
—————————————————————————–
For additional information on this issue, please review the reports below:
Approach Paths Limited for New U.S. Airstrip The Japan Times (Kyodo News), Dec. 6, 2006
Naval Gazing in Asia Foreign Policy, May 18, 2010
U.S. Court Rules in the “Okinawa Dugong” Case: Implications for U.S. Military Bases Overseas Critical Asian Studies 40:3 (2008), Miyume Tanji
