Tokyo ? Washington and Tokyo agreed today to keep a contentious U.S. Marine base in the southern island of Okinawa, reaffirming the importance of their security alliance and the need to maintain American troops in Japan.

In a joint statement, the two allies agreed to move the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko, in a less crowded, northern part of the island. The decision is broadly in line with a 2006 deal forged with the previous, conservative Tokyo government, but represents a broken campaign promise on the part of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.