(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
I have once announcement today at the outset regarding the return of the Negishi Dependent Housing Area. Today, the U.S. returned the entire approximately 43-hectare area of the U.S. Forces Japan’s Negishi Dependent Housing Area, located in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The Negishi Dependent Housing Area was requisitioned by the U.S. Forces in 1947. Subsequently, its future return to Japan was agreed upon at a Japan-U.S. Joint Committee meeting in October 2004. The area’s return today is historically significant, coming approximately 79 years after it was requisitioned and approximately 22 years after the agreement was reached. I would like to commend everyone involved for their many years of efforts to realize the return. We believe that the return will contribute to urban development in the region. To ensure that the site is used effectively for the members of the community, the Ministry of Defense (MOD) will continue to take appropriate measures in coordination with Yokohama City and others. In commemoration of this return, the MOD will be arranging to host a return ceremony in September of this year, inviting local government officials, U.S. representatives, and others. That concludes my opening remarks.