realign

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Governors urge government to listen to them on U.S. forces realignment

The liaison council of governors of 14 prefectures hosting U.S. military bases held an extraordinary meeting on November 10 and adopted a statement demanding that the national government negotiate the realignment of the U.S. forces in Japan with the U.S. based on opinions of local municipalities concerned.

The statement criticized the government for failing to give an explanation to local municipalities before it confirmed the interim report on the Japan-U.S. talks on U.S. military realignment, stating that the government "looks down on local municipalities." It urged the government to fully discuss with local governments and negotiate with the U.S. an inclusion of local government opinions in a final report concerning the revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).

At the meeting, Yamaguchi Prefectural Governor Nii Sekinari expressed concerns about a plan to relocate a carrier-based aircraft unit from the U.S. Atsugi Naval Air Station in Kanagawa Prefecture to the U.S. Marine Corps Iwakuni Air Station in Yamaguchi. He said, "It is only to shift the base burden from Atsugi to Iwakuni. We are concerned that they might conduct dangerous and noisy touch-and-go exercises." -- Akahata, November 11, 2005