A partial transfer of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam began Saturday, after Japan and the United States agreed to reorganize them to reduce the heavy burden of the U.S. military presence on the southern Japanese island, officials said.
The relocation began with 100 members of the III Marine Expeditionary Force stationed in Okinawa moving to the Pacific island for initial logistics operations, the US Marine Corps and Japan’s defense ministry said in a joint statement.
Under a plan agreed between Tokyo and Washington in April 2012, 9,000 of the 19,000 Marines currently stationed in Okinawa will be moved out of Okinawa, with about 4,000 to Guam in phases. Details, including the size and timing of the next transfer, were not immediately released.
The Marine Corps is committed to meeting operational requirements to defend Japan and maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific, and it will maintain a presence in the region “through a combination of stationing and rotating Marines in Japan, Guam and Hawaii.” A joint statement said. Japan has paid up to $2.8 billion for infrastructure at the US bases in Guam, and the rest will be covered by the US government.
The two governments will continue to cooperate in the development of Camp Blaze, which will serve as the main installation for Marines stationed on Guam.
Marines and Japan Self-Defense Forces will conduct joint training in Guam, the statement said. Okinawa, which was a US post-war occupation until 1972, is still home to the majority of the more than 50,000 US troops based in Japan under a bilateral security agreement, while 70% of US military facilities are in Okinawa, which is only 0.6%. of Japanese land.
Many Okinawans have long complained about the heavy U.S. military presence on the island, and Okinawa has been dealing with noise, pollution, plane crashes and crime related to the U.S. military. The relocation is likely to be welcomed by local residents, but it is uncertain how much of an improvement they will perceive as a rapid Japanese military build-up in the Okinawan islands as a deterrent to China’s threat.
The transfer of Marines comes at a time of growing anti-US military sentiment following a series of sexual abuse incidents involving members of the US military.
On Thursday, a senior Air Force service member based at Kadena Air Base was convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenage girl last year, a case that sparked outrage on the island. Naha District Court sentenced him to 5 years imprisonment.
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