The United States is to shift 9,000 Marines from Japan into other Asia Pacific countries, in a move aimed at easing tensions between Washington and Tokyo over the huge American military presence.

The United States is to shift 9,000 Marines from Japan into other Asia Pacific countries, in a move aimed at easing tensions between Washington and Tokyo over the huge American military presence.

Under the agreement, 9,000 US soldiers will relocate off the southern Japanese island Okinawa: 5,000 to Guam and the rest to other locations such as Hawaii and Australia, US officials said.

Thursday's plan comes just days before a planned visit by Japan's Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, to the US.
It also may help the allies work around the still unresolved dispute over moving the Futenma air base from a crowded part of Okinawa to a new site.

In a joint statement issued in Washington and Tokyo, the two sides said they remained committed to the relocation of the Futenma base from its present urban location to a coastal spot -- a move that is heavily resisted in Okinawa.
The two governments "reconfirmed their view that (this) remains the only viable solution that has been identified to date," the statement said.

For his part, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta praised the "important agreement" reached with Japan.
"I am very pleased that, after many years, we have reached this important agreement and plan of action," Panetta said in a statement late Thursday.

"We will work closely with our partners in the Japanese Self Defense Force to implement these decisions and to further improve this vital alliance.

Japan and the United States have long clashed over Okinawa, the site of sporadic tensions with US troops. Around half of the 47,000 US service personnel in Japan are based on the strategically located island, which is nearer to Taiwan than it is to Tokyo.

In 2006, the United States agreed to shift the Futenma air base -- a longtime source of grievance as it lies in a crowded urban area -- to a quiet stretch of seashore, with 8,000 Marines leaving Okinawa for Guam.
But some activists in Okinawa pressed for the base to be removed completely.