Japan's Defense Ministry officials on Tuesday held talks with a fishing cooperative of Nago city in the Okinawa prefecture on reclaiming land off the city's coast for the relocation of a U.S. air base.
The move comes after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised President Barack Obama that he would take immediate steps to relocate the U.S. Futenma Marine Corps Air Station in accordance with a bilateral agreement between the two countries, Japanese media reported.
Defense Ministry officials met with representatives of the Nago Fisheries Cooperative Association and handed over papers seeking their approval. The Ministry plans to file for a permit with the prefectural government for the land reclamation project.
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters that the cooperative's consent was not a requirement to apply for land reclamation, but he wanted to make the request to gain as much local understanding as possible, the NHK broadcaster reported.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that Futenma must not become a permanent fixture and work would proceed on the basis of the agreement with the U.S.
Relocation of the Futenma base is a longstanding demand of the people of Okinawa as it was located in a densely populated area.
Suga said the government was yet to set a specific date to file for permission with the prefecture to reclaim the coastal area. Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima, who supports relocation of the base, said he would not comment on the move which was being made by the central government in accordance with the law.
A staunch ally in the Asia-Pacific, Japan is home to several U.S. military bases with more than 50,000 Marines.
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