Anger as US and Japan agree Okinawa base

WASHINGTON and Tokyo yesterday agreed to keep a contentious US marine base in Okinawa, with prime minister Yukio Hatoyama highlighting the importance of the Japanese-American security alliance amid rising tension on the nearby Korean peninsula.

In a joint statement, the two allies agreed to move the marine corps air station Futenma to Henoko, in a less crowded, northern part of the island.

The decision is broadly in line with a 2006 deal forged with the previous Tokyo government, but it breaks Mr Hatoyama's campaign promise and has infuriated Okinawa residents.

In a news conference broadcast nationwide, Mr Hatoyama repeatedly apologised for failing to keep his pledge to move the base off the island, which hosts more than half the 47,000 US troops stationed in Japan under a 50-year-old joint security pact.

In Okinawa, around 1,000 people gathered in front of the city hall in Nago, the nearest city to Henoko, to voice their anger at the agreement, with some holding up banners emblazoned with the Japanese character for "rage".