Japanese city rejects to host US military base

Relocation of US troops from Futenma Marine airfield in Okinawa’s Ginowan to the smaller town of Nago faces opposition by the Nago assembly.

The assembly on Monday unanimously adopted a resolution of protest against the ruling coalition’s People’s New Party (PNP).

The PNP plans to present an alternative to a 2006 US-Japan deal to relocate Futenma from the crowded city of Ginowan on Okinawa to the coastal area of Nago.

The PNP program “will result in only moving the noise and dangers of Futemma to Nago,” according to the assembly’s resolution.

It “will destroy the living and educational environments (for local residents) and is simply impermissible,” it added.

Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama had earlier announced that it would decide on the agreement by May.

Accidents and crimes committed by US service personnel near Okinawa’s residential areas have turned the local population against the presence of the American forces there.

Washington has nearly 50,000 troops based in Japan, more than half of whom are in Okinawa.