"The United States and Japan agreed Saturday to step up military cooperation and substantially reduce the number of Marines on the strategically important southern island of Okinawa.
The agreement calls for the phased withdrawal of 7,000 Marines from Okinawa to the Pacific island of Guam, a move that is expected to take six years.
There are 14,460 Marines in Japan, the largest Marine contingent based overseas.
Nearly all are located on Okinawa, ideally situated for dealing with potential problems in the Pacific, such as a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan..."