Bordallo Meets with Japanese Vice Minister of Defense Akinori Eto

Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo met with Japan’s Parliamentary Senior Vice Minister of Defense Akinori Eto on Tuesday, July 30, 2013, in her Washington, D.C. office to discuss progress on the realignment of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam.

 

“I appreciated the opportunity to meet with Vice Minister Eto, who reaffirmed the Abe Administration’s commitment to the realignment,” said Congresswoman Bordallo. “He said the Government of Japan continues to seek an environment that will allow the Governor of Okinawa to move forward on a landfill permit for the Futenma Replacement Facility. We also discussed enhanced training opportunities between U.S. forces and Japanese Self Defense Forces on mainland Japan and in the Marianas. Given continued Senate obstruction to the build-up, this was an important meeting in reaffirming the importance of this realignment to security interests in the region as well as the strong friendship between the United States and Japan.”