U.S. Marines from Okinawa to start moving to Guam barracks in June
U.S. Marine Corps troops, who began relocating from Japan's Okinawa to Guam late last year, will begin occupying barracks at Camp Blaz in June, a spokesperson for the Guam-based facility said, as construction of the facilities continues.
The remark comes amid the ongoing relocation of 100 logistics personnel to Guam this year, marking the first group among more than 4,000 U.S. Marines set to be transferred from Japan's southern island prefecture of Okinawa. The move is part of efforts to ease the base-hosting burden on local communities in Okinawa.
Maj. Diann Rosenfeld told Kyodo News on Wednesday that junior enlisted Marines have arrived from Okinawa and are currently housed at other military facilities on the U.S. island territory, without specifying the number.
"We're on track to be able to receive the Marines, to have the buildings for the Marines to start moving into and start working," Rosenfeld said, referring to the barracks, which will accommodate up to 5,000 personnel once completed.
Aside from the barracks, Rosenfeld said other facilities, such as a fire station, will open soon, while the headquarters building is expected to be fully operational by fall.
The relocation is based on the U.S.-Japan Roadmap for Realignment Implementation, an agreement reached by the two countries in 2006. The cost of the transfer is estimated at $8.7 billion, of which up to $2.8 billion will be covered by the Japanese government.
Currently, some 18,000 Marine Corps are stationed in Okinawa.
Related coverage:
Top court nixes Okinawa Pref.'s last appeal over U.S. base landfill
Work begins to reinforce soft soil in Okinawa U.S. base transfer
U.S. Marines in Okinawa start moving to Guam, over 10 yrs after accord
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kyodo News
21 minutes ago
- Kyodo News
South Korea President Lee Jae Myung lauds partnership but urges Japan to face history
SEOUL - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday vowed to seek forward-looking, mutually beneficial cooperation with Japan while calling on the neighboring country to "squarely face up to" the "long and fraught" history the two countries share. Speaking at a ceremony in Seoul to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of Japan's colonial rule, Lee said Japan is "an indispensable partner," though "unresolved" historical issues still leave some South Koreans suffering, without detailing such issues as forced labor during the colonial period. In his first such Liberation Day speech since taking office in June, Lee pledged to hold frequent meetings and "frank dialogues" with Japan through "shuttle diplomacy" involving reciprocal visits by the two leaders, ahead of his two-day visit to Tokyo starting Saturday to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Courts in South Korea have ordered several Japanese companies to compensate South Korean plaintiffs over wartime forced labor. But the companies have rejected compensation, with the Japanese government claiming all historical issues stemming from its colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula were settled under a 1965 treaty that normalized bilateral ties. Lee, previously known for his tough stance on wartime issues, has adopted a pragmatic approach in diplomacy since being sworn-in and shown willingness to implement solutions from the former administration of Yoon Suk Yeol to compensate the plaintiffs through a government-backed fund, instead of urging involved Japanese firms to pay directly. On Thursday, Lee said "comfort women" -- who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels during the war -- have yet to enjoy freedom and peace of mind even though 80 years have passed since South Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule. "I will do my utmost to fully restore the honor and dignity of the comfort women victims," Lee said in a video message during a government-sponsored event to remember the issue. The comfort women issue has repeatedly soured relations between the two countries, even after they agreed to settle the matter "finally and irreversibly" in an accord in 2015. That agreement was later invalidated by the liberal administration of then President Moon Jae In, with South Korean courts ruling in favor of women seeking compensation from the Japanese government. Regarding North Korea, Lee emphasized his willingness to reduce tensions and restore trust. He stated that "everyone knows that long-drawn-out hostility benefits people in neither of the two Koreas," and that "peace is the foundation of a secure daily life." He vowed to take gradual steps to restore a military accord with North Korea that was signed in 2018 by Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, to halt hostile military activity along the inter-Korean border. The agreement was partially suspended by Yoon. As part of Lee's conciliatory approach, the South Korean military has not played any loudspeaker propaganda messages toward North Korea since June. The South Korean military said last week that it confirmed North Korea has begun dismantling loudspeakers that are used to blast noise along the border. But North Korea denied this Thursday, with Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un and a senior ruling party official, saying Pyongyang has "no will" to improve ties with Seoul, in a statement carried by the state-run media.
Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
Survivors remember wartime emperor's surrender speech 80 years ago
Reiko Muto, a former nurse student, speaks on her experience during an interview with The Associated Press on Feb 18 at St Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo. By MARI YAMAGUCHI and MAYUKO ONO Friday is the 80th anniversary of then-Emperor Hirohito's announcement of Japan's World War II surrender, but as living witnesses die and memories fade, questions remain in Japan about how the war should be taught to younger generations. A national ceremony was held at Tokyo's Budokan hall, beginning at noon, the same time then-Emperor Hirohito's 4½-minute prerecorded speech began on Aug. 15, 1945, on national radio. Hirohito's responsibility for the war remains controversial today, and Japan has struggled to come to terms with its wartime past, both at home and in the Asian countries it brutally invaded. In 1995, then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama apologized over Japan's aggression in Asia. It was welcomed abroad but there has since been continual pushback against it by revisionists and those who deny responsibility. Here's a look at the speech and the memories of some of the people who heard the announcement. Even after the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was dispute within the military government over if or how the war should be ended. The day before the announcement, Hirohito, dressed in a formal military uniform, met with top government officials in a bunker at the Imperial Palace to approve Japan's surrender. Staff members for NHK, the national broadcaster, were secretly called in, and Hirohito recorded the speech twice, finishing late that night. Palace officials hid the recordings to protect them from sabotage attempts by a group of army officers, who at one point seized the broadcast facility. Despite the chaos, palace officials safely delivered the recordings to NHK for radio transmission at noon on Aug. 15, 1945. Up until the moment of the surrender announcement, there were suicides, coup attempts and fighting among army officers. The action-filled drama of the days before Hirohito's radio address was made into a film, 'Japan's Longest Day,' as well as a graphic novel. Hirohito's voice, which most Japanese were hearing for the first time because he was considered a living god, was not easy to understand because of poor sound quality and the arcane language he used. The message was clear, though: Japan had lost the war. Fumiko Doi heard the emperor's address at home in Nagasaki just 6 days after surviving the atomic bombing. She remembers that her neighbors gathered at her home to listen to a radio placed on top of a cabinet. She did not understand what exactly was said, but later learned it was the announcement of Japan's surrender. It was not a surprise, because she had heard her mother say that Japan would lose. 'I only wish the emperor had issued an order to end the war sooner,' Doi says. The Nagasaki bombing and an attack on Hiroshima three days earlier together killed more than 210,000 people and left many survivors with radiation-induced illnesses. On Aug. 9, 1945, at 11:02 a.m., Doi was on a train 5 kilometers (3 miles) away from the location a U.S. B-29 dropped the atomic bomb. Her mother and two of her three brothers died of cancer, and two sisters have struggled with their health. Reiko Muto, who survived the massive Tokyo firebombing just five months earlier as a 17-year-old nursing student, was at her hospital on Aug. 15. Everyone gathered in an auditorium for 'an important broadcast.' People cried when the emperor's muffled voice came on the radio. 'The first thing that came to my mind was that now I could leave the lights on at night,' Muto said. 'I was so relieved that the war was over.' The March 10, 1945, U.S. firebombing of Tokyo killed more than 100,000 people. Truckloads of people with serious burns cried in pain and begged for water, but because of a shortage of medical supplies, the best she could do was to comfort them. But the end of the war didn't immediately end the hardship. Her hospital and nursing school were occupied by the allied powers, though she managed to graduate two years later and pursued a career in pediatric nursing. 'What we went through should never be repeated,' she says. Sora, her two sisters and their parents barely survived the atomic bombing on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, when the blast destroyed her home just 1.4 kilometers (0.9 mile) from the hypocenter, and Sora's face was burned. Her grandmother suffered severe burns, and her uncle and aunt were never found. While taking shelter at a relatives' home, her parents listened to the radio broadcast, but sound quality was particularly bad in Hiroshima because the atomic bombing destroyed key infrastructure. Her grandmother, who died later that day, sounded disappointed about the announcement, Sora said. Her grandmother's generation venerated the emperor, and his acknowledgment of Japan's defeat must have discouraged her far more than the rest of the family imagined, Sora said. Despite the sadness of her grandmother's death, the surrender speech gave Sora peace of mind. 'War brings horror and intimidation even to little children,' she said. Hirohito's son and grandson have repeatedly expressed deep remorse over the war, but prime ministers since 2013 have not apologized to Asian victims of Japan's aggression amid a government lean toward revisionism. Hirohito's grandson, current Emperor Naruhito, has repeatedly stressed the importance of telling the war's tragic history to younger generations. He has traveled to Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Hiroshima, and is expected to visit Nagasaki with his daughter, Princess Aiko, in September. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has signaled a more neutral view of Japan's wartime history, has said he is determined to keep passing on the tragedy of the war. But his leadership comes as emboldened ultra-conservatives in his party try to force him out over a July election loss. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
Ishiba says Japan will continue to pursue peace at ceremony marking end of World War II
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako bow at a memorial service marking the 80th anniversary of Japan's World War II defeat, at the Nippon Budokan hall in Tokyo on Friday. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday vowed to keep in mind Japan's "remorse" over World War II as the nation continues its pursuit of peace 80 years since its surrender, becoming the first premier in over a decade to use the term at the annual memorial ceremony for the war dead. Ishiba has chosen not to issue a cabinet-endorsed statement for the 80th anniversary, unlike past leaders who released them for the 50th, 60th, and 70th milestones. The statements have been closely scrutinized by other Asian nations that suffered under Japan's wartime aggression. Speaking at a government ceremony in Tokyo to mark the end of World War II, Ishiba redoubled his country's commitment to peace in the face of ongoing global conflicts, stressing the importance of aging survivors passing down the "painful" memories of the war to future generations. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, left, walks to deliver a speech as Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako look on at the Nippon Budokan hall on Friday. Image: AP/Eugene Hoshiko "We should never repeat the devastation of war. We will never ever make a mistake in choosing the path to take," Ishiba said when addressing the annual event for the first time. "The remorse and lessons from that war should once again be engraved deeply in our hearts," he said. He became the first Japanese prime minister since 2012 to use the word "remorse" at the annual commemoration ceremony. Following the precedent set by his recent predecessors, however, he did not directly mention Japan's wartime aggression and the suffering it caused across Asia. A moment of silence was observed at noon, the same time 80 years ago when Emperor Hirohito declared his country's surrender in a radio broadcast. Emperor Naruhito, accompanied by Empress Masako, also expressed "deep remorse" at the memorial, saying the calamity of the war should never be repeated. Participants, including about 3,400 family members of those killed, mourned around 3.1 million casualties of the war in Japan. The number includes victims of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hajime Eda, 82, who was just two when his 31-year-old father, a soldier in the army, died, noted there are still many people falling victim to acts of aggression, ethnic conflicts and religious confrontations. "Having experienced the severity of what came after the war, our country should seize the opportunity to stress the emptiness of fighting, the difficulty of reconstruction and the preciousness of peace in the world," Eda told the ceremony. The passing down of wartime experiences has taken on greater urgency due to the aging of survivors. For the first time, more than half of the participants at the memorial ceremony were born after the war. Ishiba chose not to visit Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo for the 80th anniversary. The shrine is a source of diplomatic friction due to it honoring convicted war criminals along with millions of war dead. As head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, however, he sent a ritual offering to the Shinto shrine, a move apparently aimed at appeasing his party's conservative support base. He laid flowers at Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Tokyo, where the remains of around 370,000 unidentified soldiers and citizens are interred. The event took place as Ishiba's grip on power has been significantly weakened following his party's poor results in recent elections. He has faced calls from some hawkish party members not to override the 70th statement made by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is believed to have sought an end to the practice of repeatedly issuing apologies over the war. Japan has spent the decades since the war committed to promoting peace under its war-renouncing Constitution, which permits the use of force only for self-defense. Still, wartime history has long strained Japan's relations with China and South Korea. China fought what it calls the 1937-1945 War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, while the Korean Peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. The United States, which fought fierce battles with Japan after its 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and later dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, has become Japan's closest security ally since the war. At ceremonies last week marking 80 years since the atomic bombings, Ishiba stressed the need for Japan to work toward a world free of nuclear war and nuclear weapons. Russia has brandished its nuclear threat as its war in Ukraine drags on, while North Korea continues to advance its nuclear and missile programs. In June, the United States attacked Iranian nuclear sites. © KYODO
