GINOWAN, Okinawa — The U.S. and Japan announced Friday that they will move ahead with plans to close Marine Corps Air Station Futenma here and move Marine air operations to a new facility on Camp Schwab. In a joint statement signed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, the two countries confirmed their commitment to steadily implement a 2006 agreement to realign U.S. troops in Japan. According to Kyodo News, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama spoke with U.S. President Barack Obama by telephone Thursday.

The prime minister later told reporters Obama expressed his ‘‘gratitude that an agreement was made.” Key to the 2006 plan is closing the air station, located in the midst of Ginowan’s urban sprawl, and moving the Marine air units to the Henoko Peninsula on Okinawa’s rural northeast shore. The plan also calls for moving key Marine command elements, including 8,000 Marines and their families, from Okinawa to Guam once the new air facility is built. Also, most of the U.S. base property on Okinawa south of Kadena Air Base would eventually be returned. The statement ends eight months of political stress between the two countries as Hatoyama searched for a way to keep a campaign promise he made last summer to move the Marine air units off Okinawa. Last Sunday Hatoyama visited Okinawa and told leaders regional security concerns made it impossible to separate the air units from Marine ground forces that would remain on Okinawa.

More Info On Story:
http://www.stripes.com/news/japan-a...a-1.104624

This all links to force transfers between Atsugi, Iwakuni and Guam as well. Sounds like the whole thing is "green lighted", which looked doubtful after the last Japanese elections. I would expect the construction projects in 'kuni to go into high gear now. 2014 is not too far when you have to prepare to double your base population.

2014 is not too far when you have to prepare to double your base population.

By that time, JB will have offices to support all the increase in personnel to the Iwakuni area. We will have our housing section full in affect to help those newly reporting personnel to Iwakuni easily find properties they would like to go in and rent...

sounds great, just make sure you're here before the ramp up. I would expect at least 2013 our forces will be increasing, if not sooner. The rental market here is much more consolidated than Yoko; I'll show you around if you ever come down here.