US military leader says Okinawa base move delayed 2 years

In this March 23, 2015, file photo, a child looks at the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station and the surrounding area from an observation deck at a park in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture on southern Japan. US Adm. Harry Harris told a congressional committee in Washington on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016 that the shift of the Futenma air station to the town of Henoko would not happen until 2025 because construction has slowed. AP FILE PHOTO

TOKYO — A senior US military official says a controversial plan to move a Marine Corps base within Japan’s Okinawa has been pushed back by two years.

Adm. Harry Harris told a congressional committee in Washington on Tuesday that the shift of the Futenma air station to the town of Henoko would not happen until 2025 because construction has slowed.

Japan has begun survey work for the project, which faces opposition from both protesters and the Okinawan prefectural government.

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The air station is being moved from Ginowan city to a less congested area to reduce the burden of the US military presence on Okinawa residents.

Opponents want the base moved off Okinawa entirely.

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