Mayor-elect supports plan for realignment in Iwakuni

[unhappycamper]

Mayor-elect supports plan for realignment in Iwakuni
By Hana Kusumoto, and Travis J. Tritten, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, February 14, 2008

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan — The election of a new Iwakuni city mayor Sunday softened local political opposition to a plan by the United States and Japan to expand military operations in the area in coming years.

Mayor-elect Yoshikiko Fukuda, who won the race by a slim margin, said he will support the realignment plan but also will demand that safety and security measures are met.

Realignment will move the U.S. Navy’s Carrier Air Wing Five and an estimated 4,000 residents from Naval Air Facility Atsugi to the Iwakuni air station by 2014.

Fukuda’s opponent, former Mayor Katsusuke Ihara, was a staunch opponent of the realignment and claimed it would bring increased noise and crime. He resigned in December and shaved his head to run on an anti-expansion platform.

The air station declined to comment on the election Tuesday because it is improper for the military to become involved in local political debates, Master Sgt. John Cordero said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52443

[sazemisery]

1. Shaved his head to make a statement.

I wonder if one of our candidates would do that?
:hide: