by Nick Delgado

Guam - Nearly two-dozen officials from various parts of Japan met with island leaders today to get a better understanding of how Guam feels about the relocation of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to the island. And it seems both Japan and Guam are on the same page.

"This group is a peace group they advocate peace," said Senator Judi Guthertz. Local leaders shared similar concerns about the military buildup with a visiting delegation from Japan. Organizations represented in the group include the Social Democratic Party of Japan, the Japan Congress Against A-&-H Bombs, and several Japan labor unions and peace organizations. Officials questioned island senators about the reaction from the community when it came to issues stated in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, as well as how Guam handled the military giving back land they once used.

It's a problem both Senator Ben Pangelinan and Speaker Judi Won Pat say remain unresolved. "We continue to be restricted in full development of this land because of the contamination caused by the United States activities on those lands." "We have so many similarities that not one of their toxic sites have been cleaned up, none of ours has actually with the exception only of one," they said respectfully.

Okinawan Movement for Peace Central Manager Yoshinao Uezu shares his concerns for Guam as he says the people of Okinawa have more than the excepted handful of troubles when it came to the military. "Okinawan people have been suffering from all the environmental problems like noise, not only from the Marines, but all the military personnel they got all the noise and also the incidents and accidents and we have been suffering a lot," said Uezu.

Uezu didn't have much advice to give about life with the Marines, however, he hopes that Guam will not have to be placed in the same battle they're dealing with today. "I think much more complex feelings the Guam people have about the U.S. bases, but now I understand the situation of Guam and learned a lot, so I want to bring this experience to Okinawa," he said.

As the delegation continues their tour of the island, group leader Masaaki Tsuru, who is from Fukuoka, says their goal is to get to the bottom of the real situation that the military has planned for Guam. "We go back to Japan and we let them know what we get to know here and continue to fight against the U.S. bases in Japan," said Tsuru.