U.S. Marines in Okinawa Pref. Begin to Relocate to Guam; Part of Agreement on Realignment of U.S. Forces in Japan

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:02 JST, December 15, 2024

The relocation of some U.S. Marine Corps units from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam started, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Saturday.

Nakatani said the relocation began with about 100 logistics personnel of the III Marine Expeditionary Force.

This is the first time that a transfer of U.S. troops overseas has been realized as part of a 2006 Japan-U.S. agreement on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, facilitating substantial progress in reducing the burden borne by the prefecture in hosting U.S. bases.

The relocation of the 100 personnel is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. The ministry has not elaborated on when the transfer started.

The Japanese and U.S. governments have agreed to relocate a total of about 9,000 of 19,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in the prefecture to overseas locations, but the timing of the transfer of the remaining personnel has not yet been decided.

“This is the first stage of the relocation of U.S. marine personnel overseas,” Nakatani told reporters in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture. “The relocation will be carried out in stages from here on.”

The relocation of U.S. marines in the prefecture overseas was included in the final report of the 2006 Roadmap for Realignment Implementation for U.S. forces. The relocation to Guam was initially planned to be complete by 2014, but was temporarily frozen due to the impact of the stalled relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan in the prefecture to the Henoko district in Nago when the Democratic Party of Japan was in power.

The freeze was lifted in December 2012, and, after Washington became ready for the relocation, it was confirmed at the Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee, also known as the two-plus-two security talks, among the defense and foreign ministers of both countries in July to start the relocation by the end of the year.

The U.S. Marine Corps intends to retain its units such as the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, which is equipped to deal swiftly with contingencies around Japan’s remote islands, in the prefecture even after the completion of the transfer, in order to maintain deterrence and response capabilities against countries like China and North Korea.