Japan continues to resist US pressure on relocating a US military base on the island of Okinawa. The Japanese government has said it wants to move the base completely off the island of Okinawa, while the US wants to maintain a base somewhere else on the island. Tens of thousands of Okinawa residents have taken part in ongoing protests against the base. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton failed to reach an agreement in a meeting with Japan’s Foreign Minister.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “At the end of the day, I am confident that we will resolve this matter in a way that reflects the very best of our alliance, the strength of that alliance for the next fifty years, and provides the security guarantees that the Japanese people are looking for.”

The Obama administration had been lobbying for an immediate decision on the base but now says it will respect Japan’s request to wait until May.