Obama and Japanese PM discuss plans to keep US Marine base on island of Okinawa
By APSaturday, May 29, 2010
Obama, Japan’s PM discuss Marine base on Okinawa
WASHINGTON — The White House says President Barack Obama and Japanese prime minister have expressed satisfaction with plans to move a U.S. Marine base to a less crowded part of the Japanese island of Okinawa.
Obama and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama spoke in a telephone conversation on Thursday as the president was flying to Chicago.
Details of their conversation came as Washington and Tokyo issued a joint statement outlining a new agreement on keeping the base on the island of Okinawa. Hatoyama’s decision disappointed many of the island’s residents, who complain about base-related noise, pollution and crime.
The White House also says Obama and Hatoyama pledged to work closely with South Korea after a North Korean torpedo reportedly sank its neighbor’s ship.
