Japanese city rejects plan for more US Marines

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-03-12T165134Z_01_T340422_RTRUKOC_0_US-JAPAN-USA-REFERENDUM.xml&archived=False

TOKYO (Reuters) - Voters in a Japanese city overwhelmingly rejected a plan on Sunday to bring more planes and troops to a nearby U.S. Marine base, complicating talks on relocating U.S. forces throughout Japan.

With all votes counted, more than 43,000 rejected the plan and just over 5,000 were in favor, an official in the southwest city of Iwakuni said.

The result of the referendum is not binding, but a "No" vote is a headache for both Tokyo and Washington.

The referendum, a rare Japanese exercise in direct democracy, took place as Tokyo and Washington sought to wrap up by the end of March a sweeping plan to reorganize the nearly 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan.