Tokyo lines up political support for new US Navy carrier-landing practice site

[Tony]

An influential governor in southern Japan has lent his support for a central government plan to build a new Self-Defense Force base to accommodate carrier-landing practice for U.S. naval aviators.

Kagoshima Gov. Koichi Shiota cited a “deteriorating” security environment in his decision to support the proposed base on Mageshima, an island 20 miles south of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands. Shiota announced his decision to the prefectural assembly on Tuesday, according to his remarks posted on the prefectural website.