A team of Japan's Ministry of Defense has visited Tinian in the Northern Marianas to assess its value for Japanese military training alongside US forces as part of a realignment in the Pacific.
The visit of the seven-member delegation is independent of the scheduled training of some 200 US Marines from Okinawa on Tinian over the next two months.
The Tinian mayor, Ramon Dela Cruz, says the Japanese were very impressed with what they saw as possible training grounds for their forces.
He and other Tinian officials touted the island's proximity to Japan as it's only about three hours away by plane.
And he says there's also no need to lease public lands on Tinian because two-thirds of the island are already leased by the US Department of Defense.
