Japan's prime minister acknowledged defeat yesterday in his effort to move a controversial US marine base out of Okinawa, suggesting the southern island must continue to “bear this burden” for the sake of Tokyo's alliance with Washington.
Public acceptance by Yukio Hatoyama that most of the functions of the Futenma marine air base will remain on the island prefecture will ease bilateral tensions raised by last year's announcement of a rethink of a long-standing relocation plan.
But the survival of the Hatoyama administration could still be threatened by opposition from disappointed Okinawans and resistance from Washington to the prime minister's hopes for a face-saving move of some of Futenma's helicopters to an island 200km away.
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