The Washington Post has this story on how Japan won approval from locals on Okinawa to begin the relocation of a controversial U.S. Marine base, “a move that officials in Washington hailed as a major diplomatic breakthrough.”

Excerpt:

The relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is a key piece of a broader U.S. realignment of troops and re­sources in the Asia-Pacific region.  …

Completion of the new air station, which is expected to include two runways more than a mile long each, will take approximately a decade, U.S. officials said.

As the new facility is built, the Pentagon expects to reduce the number of Marines based on Okinawa from 18,000 to roughly 10,000, as more are deployed to Guam, a U.S. territory, Australia and Hawaii.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz released a statement on the news that said in part, “As the transition moves forward and the United States continues our strategic rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific, Hawaii will play an even more important role in ensuring the right distribution of forces throughout the region by providing facilities for Marines and DOD service members. …”

Photo: Marine Corps Air Station, Futenma, Okinawa, Japan. (expertinfantry)

—Chad Blair