Relocation of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam Starts

Tokyo, Dec. 14 (Jiji Press)--Relocation of U.S. Marines in Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, to Guam has started, Japan's Defense Ministry said Saturday.

The transfer, aimed at reducing Okinawa's burden of hosting U.S. troops and maintaining the deterrence at the same time, finally began about 19 years after an agreement was reached in October 2005 at a so-called two-plus-two meeting of the two countries' foreign and defense ministers.

The first group made up of about 100 logistics members of the Marine Corps' III Marine Expeditionary Force will move to Guam, according to the ministry.

In a meeting with Nago Mayor Taketoyo Toguchi in the city in Okinawa, Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said: "This is a very important initiative. We will continue working with the U.S. side to promote the relocation."

Of about 19,000 Marines in Okinawa, more than 4,000 from the command of the III Marine Expeditionary Brigade at Camp Courtney in the city of Uruma and the 4th Marine Regiment at Camp Schwab in the city of Nago will move to Guam under the current project, which was agreed on between the Japanese and U.S. governments in April 2012.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]