Tokyo - Okinawa yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of its reversion to Japan from US military rule, but several local leaders boycotted the ceremony attended by the Prime Minister, Mr Ryutaro Hashimoto, and the US envoy to Japan.
Mr Hashimoto said Japan intended to close and reduce US military bases in Okinawa, Japan's southernmost prefecture, which houses about 75 per cent of the country's US military facilities in terms of land area.
