InsideJapan News Network

An agreement between the US and Japan on the location of a controversial military base is to be reached before the start of June, local reports have said.

According to an article in Japanese source the Kyodo News, the two countries are set to announce an agreement on May 28th, reported Bloomberg.

The Okinawa military base has long been a contentious issue between the US and Japan. It is the largest US base in the country and as part of a 2006 agreement, it was supposed to be moved to a new location this year.

However, during his pre-election campaign Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama announced he planned to get rid of the base all together, which helped him garner support.

Since then however, Japan has continued to drag its heels on a decision and has missed deadlines for a deal. This has resulted support for the prime minister dropping to below 20 per cent.

Written by Mark Smith.