US agrees to Okinawa air-base move

The United States accepted a Japanese proposal for the relocation of a US air base on Okinawa today, resolving a dispute that had blocked progress on military realignment talks and caused friction between the two allies.

The plan, which scuttles a US-favoured proposal to construct a heliport on a coral reef, will move the functions of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from a congested city to inside another American base on the island, Japan’s foreign minister said.