Okinawa Marines OKd for Guam Move

The United States on Thursday welcomed ratification by Japan's parliament of a multi-billion-dollar plan to transfer 8,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa island to Guam by 2014.

The agreement was signed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Japanese Foreign Minister Nakasone on Feb. 17, and ratified by Japan's Diet on Wednesday.

Washington "welcomes the Japanese Diet's ratification" of the agreement, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in a statement.

The agreement is part of a wider 2006 bilateral accord on transforming U.S. force deployments in Japan.

The U.S. government "remains committed to completing the realignment package, including the relocation of 8,000 U.S. Marines and their dependents from Okinawa to Guam," Kelly said.

Some 25,000 U.S. service personnel and their dependents currently live on Okinawa, Kelly said.

"These Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen are a key component of the United States' and Japan's defense strategy," he said. "We greatly appreciate the generosity of the people of Okinawa and their role as host to U.S. forces in Japan."

Under the agreement, Japan would pay up to 2.8 billion dollars for infrastructure and other work in relocating the Marines and their dependents to the U.S. Pacific territory.

Okinawa -- where a bloody battle was fought in the closing days of World War II -- has since the war been the reluctant host of more than half of the 40,000 U.S. troops based in Japan.