The Wall St. Journal reports that “U.S. and Japanese officials are putting a new focus on Okinawa, the hub of the American military presence in East Asia, pressuring reluctant local residents to approve by year’s end a long-stalled plan to move a base for U.S. Marines.”

“It is a risky tactic for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as he tries to tighten the security alliance with the U.S. to counter Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the waters around Japan’s southern island. Even as national support grows for U.S. troops, grass-roots resentment on Okinawa toward the foreign military presence has strengthened in recent years.”