Governor, mayor lodge protest over Osprey deployment

Governor, mayor lodge protest over Osprey deployment

TOKYO, Japan - Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii (C) and Iwakuni Mayor Yoshihiko Fukuda (R) present a written request to Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto at the ministry in Tokyo on July 25, 2012. The governor and mayor lodged strong protests with the central government over the deployment of the U.S. Osprey military aircraft in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, requesting the Ospreys not be stationed for long at the Iwakuni base and calling for the planes to be returned to the United States if their safety is not verified.

Yamaguchi gov. rejects Osprey deployment

Yamaguchi gov. rejects Osprey deployment

YAMAGUCHI, Japan - Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto (R back) and Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii (L back) hold talks at the prefectural office in the city of Yamaguchi on July 1, 2012. Nii rejected a U.S. plan to deploy the MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft at the Marines' Iwakuni Air Station in Yamaguchi Prefecture for trial flights ahead of its deployment in Okinawa Prefecture during the talks.

Yamaguchi governor to retire

Yamaguchi governor to retire

YAMAGUCHI, Japan - Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii speaks during a press conference in Yamaguchi City on Feb. 22, 2012. He said he will not run for a fifth term after his current four-year term expires in the summer of 2012.

Gov't not to OK transfer of Marines from Okinawa to Iwakuni

Gov't not to OK transfer of Marines from Okinawa to Iwakuni

TOKYO, Japan - Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii (L front) gives a refusal document to Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo On Feb. 13, 2012. Gemba said that the government will not give the go-ahead for the United States to redeploy some of the U.S. Marines on the Japanese island of Okinawa to a base in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in association with Washington's ongoing review of its defense strategy. Iwakuni Mayor Yoshihiko Fukuda (2nd from L front) attended the talks.

Planned site for nuke plant in Yamaguchi Pref.

Planned site for nuke plant in Yamaguchi Pref.

TOKYO, Japan - File photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on May 17, 2011, shows a planned construction site for a nuclear power plant in the town of Kaminoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii said May 19 the prefectural government is considering invalidating a license that allows Chugoku Electric Power Co. to reclaim the land for the plant's construction, following a nuclear crisis at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.

Planned site for nuke plant in Yamaguchi Pref.

Planned site for nuke plant in Yamaguchi Pref.

TOKYO, Japan - File photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on May 17, 2011, shows a planned construction site for a nuclear power plant in the town of Kaminoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii said May 19 the prefectural government is considering invalidating a license that allows Chugoku Electric Power Co. to reclaim the land for the plant's construction, following a nuclear crisis at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.

Aso visits Yamaguchi Pref. to seek understanding for realignment

Aso visits Yamaguchi Pref. to seek understanding for realignment

YAMAGUCHI, Japan - Foreign Minister Taro Aso (L) meets Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii (R) in Yamaguchi Prefecture on Jan. 16 as part of the central government's efforts to seek the understanding of local areas to be affected by the U.S. military realignment in Japan agreed upon between Tokyo and Washington last October.

Local gov'ts seek explanation on Japan-U.S. realignment negotiations

Local gov'ts seek explanation on Japan-U.S. realignment negotiations

TOKYO, Japan - Foreign Minister Taro Aso (L) receives a written petition from Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa, Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine (2nd from R) and Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii (R) on Nov. 11. The governors called on the central government to provide explanations on the development of negotiations between Japan and the United States as the two nations plan to draw up by March a final report on realigning U.S. forces in Japan.

Local gov'ts seek explanation on Japan-U.S. realignment negotiat

Local gov'ts seek explanation on Japan-U.S. realignment negotiat

TOKYO, Japan - Foreign Minister Taro Aso (L) receives a written petition from Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa, Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine (2nd from R) and Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii (R) on Nov. 11. The governors called on the central government to provide explanations on the development of negotiations between Japan and the United States as the two nations plan to draw up by March a final report on realigning U.S. forces in Japan. (Kyodo)

Aso visits Yamaguchi Pref. to seek understanding for realignment

Aso visits Yamaguchi Pref. to seek understanding for realignment

YAMAGUCHI, Japan - Foreign Minister Taro Aso (L) meets Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii (R) in Yamaguchi Prefecture on Jan. 16 as part of the central government's efforts to seek the understanding of local areas to be affected by the U.S. military realignment in Japan agreed upon between Tokyo and Washington last October. (Kyodo)

Local gov'ts seek explanation on Japan-U.S. realignment negotiat

Local gov'ts seek explanation on Japan-U.S. realignment negotiat

TOKYO, Japan - Foreign Minister Taro Aso (L) receives a written petition from Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa, Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine (2nd from R) and Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii (R) on Nov. 11. The governors called on the central government to provide explanations on the development of negotiations between Japan and the United States as the two nations plan to draw up by March a final report on realigning U.S. forces in Japan. (Kyodo)

Planned site for nuke plant in Yamaguchi Pref.

Planned site for nuke plant in Yamaguchi Pref.

TOKYO, Japan - File photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on May 17, 2011, shows a planned construction site for a nuclear power plant in the town of Kaminoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii said May 19 the prefectural government is considering invalidating a license that allows Chugoku Electric Power Co. to reclaim the land for the plant's construction, following a nuclear crisis at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan. (Kyodo)

Planned site for nuke plant in Yamaguchi Pref.

Planned site for nuke plant in Yamaguchi Pref.

TOKYO, Japan - File photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on May 17, 2011, shows a planned construction site for a nuclear power plant in the town of Kaminoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan. Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii said May 19 the prefectural government is considering invalidating a license that allows Chugoku Electric Power Co. to reclaim the land for the plant's construction, following a nuclear crisis at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan. (Kyodo)

Yamaguchi governor to retire

Yamaguchi governor to retire

YAMAGUCHI, Japan - Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii speaks during a press conference in Yamaguchi City on Feb. 22, 2012. He said he will not run for a fifth term after his current four-year term expires in the summer of 2012. (Kyodo)

Gov't not to OK transfer of Marines from Okinawa to Iwakuni

Gov't not to OK transfer of Marines from Okinawa to Iwakuni

TOKYO, Japan - Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii (L front) gives a refusal document to Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo On Feb. 13, 2012. Gemba said that the government will not give the go-ahead for the United States to redeploy some of the U.S. Marines on the Japanese island of Okinawa to a base in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in association with Washington's ongoing review of its defense strategy. Iwakuni Mayor Yoshihiko Fukuda (2nd from L front) attended the talks. (Kyodo)