Report: Move to Guam may need more money, time

Report: Move to Guam may need more money, time
By Tomoko A. Hosaka - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Nov 9, 2008 10:49:25 EST

TOKYO — The planned relocation of 8,000 Marines from Japan’s southernmost island of Okinawa to Guam may cost more and take longer than initially expected, local media reported Sunday.

The transfer, part of a bilateral agreement to realign the U.S. military presence in Japan, could be delayed until at least 2015 and exceed the initial $10.3 billion estimate, the Yomiuri newspaper said, citing unidentified sources.

With the Department of Defense likely facing budget cuts in the wake of the U.S. financial crisis, the government may ask Tokyo to foot a bigger portion of the bill, the Yomiuri said. Japan has thus far agreed to contribute about $6 billion for the transfer.

In New York on Wednesday, Adm. Timothy Keating, the senior U.S. commander in the Pacific, suggested that the relocation may not happen by 2014 as planned but reiterated that it would go ahead despite looming budgetary constraints.

“The two governments of the United States and Japan have recommitted at the very highest levels — prime minister and president — to the eventual success of the (agreement),” Keating said, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_marines_guam_110908/%2e