The US government has sent out notice to Japan that it will be moving the 1,300 Marines in Japan to another base outside of Okinawa, even if they cannot move the Marines to the Iwakuni Yamaguchi prefecture. The relocation is nothing new since the talks have been ongoing for several months now, but Tokyo officials are still trying to block any domestic relocation of the Marines.
The issue has been ongoing since 2006 when there was a realignment of the current agreement regarding Marines at the base in Okinawa. Originally 8,000 Marines were supposed to relocate to Guam, but the issue with the agreement has caused this to cease and now the US needs to move 1,300 of their Marines to another area, according to the US. Talks are not going well for the relocation of these Marines.
For the Marines and any family they have brought over to Japan, the discussions have kept them questioning what will happen in the next few months with their possible move to another area in Japan. Possible relocation sites include Misawa, Yokota and Camp Fuji. Negotiations are still ongoing, but Japan is being called upon to pick the location and as soon as possible. Japan is still holding on to a move to Guam or Hawaii for these Marines. There is every possibility that the US will have to move some of the 1,300 to Guam or Hawaii in order to appease the Japanese government into choosing one of the Japanese bases.
Jon Huser