InsideJapan News Network

Up to 40 jet fighters may be removed from a US airbase in Japan, it has been reported locally.

As part of US plans to overhaul its defence strategy, the F-16 jets could be withdrawn from the Misawa Air Base, which is in the Aomori prefecture in Japan.

As well as the potential removal plans from Misawa, the US is also considering moving more than 50 F-15 jets at its Kadena base, reported the Japanese news agency Kyodo, citing unnamed sources.

The news comes as newly-elected prime minister Yukio Hatoyama nears the day when he will be signed in as the new leader of Japan.

His Democratic Party won a landslide vote when Japanese voters went to the polls a couple of weeks ago.

There are currently around 47,000 US troops stationed in Japan, after such individuals began to be sent to the nation after the end of the Second World War.

Written by Kimberley Homer.