This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8658901.stm
The article has changed 35 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
Next version
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Japan PM scraps US base move plan | Japan PM scraps US base move plan |
(30 minutes later) | |
Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has said it will not be feasible to entirely remove a controversial US base from the island of Okinawa. | Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has said it will not be feasible to entirely remove a controversial US base from the island of Okinawa. |
The US Marines' Futenma base is deeply unpopular with Japanese and removing it had been a key election pledge of Mr Hatoyama's. | |
But on a visit to the island, Mr Hatoyama said "realistically speaking, it is impossible" to fully relocate it. | But on a visit to the island, Mr Hatoyama said "realistically speaking, it is impossible" to fully relocate it. |
The base is home to more than half the 47,000 American troops based in Japan. | The base is home to more than half the 47,000 American troops based in Japan. |
"I really feel sorry as I visit here today that I must ask for the Okinawan people's understanding that part of the base operations would have to stay," the AFP news agency quoted Mr Hatoyama as saying. | "I really feel sorry as I visit here today that I must ask for the Okinawan people's understanding that part of the base operations would have to stay," the AFP news agency quoted Mr Hatoyama as saying. |
Mr Hatoyama, who had promised to resolve the issue by the end of May, was speaking on his first visit to Okinawa since becoming prime minister. | Mr Hatoyama, who had promised to resolve the issue by the end of May, was speaking on his first visit to Okinawa since becoming prime minister. |
"We must ask the people of Okinawa to share the burden," he said. | "We must ask the people of Okinawa to share the burden," he said. |
The row over the base has undermined relations between Japan's centre-left government and the US. | The row over the base has undermined relations between Japan's centre-left government and the US. |