The United States on Monday ruled out renegotiating a deal on US military bases with Japan's new left-leaning government, which has pledged a fresh look at US forces in its territory.
Japan's incoming prime minister Yukio Hatoyama in the past called for the United States to remove the Futenma Marine base -- long a sore point as it lies in a crowded urban area on the southern island of Okinawa.
But State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the United States would not revisit a deal finalized just months ago by Japan's long-ruling conservatives that also includes moving troops to the US territory of Guam.
"The United States has no intention to renegotiate the Futenma replacement facility plan or Guam relocation with the government of Japan," Kelly said.
After exhaustive negotiations, former president George W. Bush's administration agreed to dismantle Futenma and shift the facilities to reclaimed land in a quiet part of Okinawa.
Some Okinawan activists -- backed by Hatoyama's Democratic Party while in opposition -- want the United States to get the base off Okinawa completely.
In their platform for Sunday's election, the Democrats said they would "move in the direction of re-examining the realignment of US military forces in Japan and the role of US military bases in Japan."