Abe unveils Japan-U.S. plan to return land to Okinawa (3)

（Xinhua）  10:14, April 06, 2013  

TOKYO, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday unveiled a Japan-U.S. time frame on returning Okinawa's land used by the U.S. military to the Japanese southernmost prefecture, according to local media.

According to the plan, land used by the U.S. Futenma base will be returned to Japanese control in the fiscal year 2022 or later, reported Japan's Kyodo News Agency.

However, return of the land used as a key U.S. air base will also depend on its relocation to a coastal area of Nago under a agreement between Japan and the United States.

A small portion of the land eligible for immediate return under an agreement reached in April 2012 between the two allies can be returned during the current fiscal year that began this month, or later, according to the plan.

Most of the land used for Makiminato Service Area in the city of Urasoe can be returned in fiscal 2025 or later, said the timetable.

About 90 percent of over 570-hectare land for five U.S. facilities south of the U.S. Kadena air base can be given back once replacement facilities are provided in Okinawa or U.S. Marines relocate from the prefecture, according to the plan.

The two countries will update and disclose timetables for land return every three years.

Speaking with the U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos, Abe said that the agreement on returning land to Okinawa showed the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance, while Roos said the United States will continue its efforts to reduce the burden on Okinawa, Kyodo reported.

Japan's Okinawa hosts more than 70 percent of the military bases of the U.S. Forces Japan, and the prefecture has appealed for long to move the Futenma base to outside of Okinawa.