Intelligence office may move to Japan

A Japanese newspaper is reporting that the U.S. Navy may move some intelligence operations from Hawai`i to Japan, perhaps as soon as the fall. According to a Mainichi Shinbun article, the “higher reconnaissance command post” here would be relocated to the Misawa base in Japan’s Aomori Prefecture as part of a larger plan to shift the center of U.S. intelligence in Asia.

The U.S. presence in Yokohama would also be reduced, a move that will no doubt boost the sometimes shaky military relationship between the American and Japan. But a CNN report notes that the intensifying situation in North Korea would be a major factor in any decision.

The runway at Misawa base is already being extended, the Mainichi Shinbun reported, and a major restructuring of the U.S. Pacific Fleet‘s air division could be on the horizon.

The U.S. has over 40,000 military personnel based in Japan.