Protesters hold a sign at a mass anti-U.S. base rally in Ginowan on Japan's southwestern island of Okinawa, a subtropical island about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) south of Tokyo, that hosts about half the 47,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan November 8, 2009. A dispute over a replacement facility for Futenma air base on Okinawa, a key part of a realignment of U.S. troops in Japan, has strained the alliance between the U.S. and Japan, ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to Tokyo next week. Reuters Pictures logo Reuters Pictures 27 months ago

Protesters hold a sign at a mass anti-U.S. base rally in Ginowan on Japan's southwestern island of Okinawa, a subtropical island about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) south of Tokyo, that hosts about half the 47,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan November 8, 2009. A dispute over a replacement facility for Futenma air base on Okinawa, a key part of a realignment of U.S. troops in Japan, has strained the alliance between the U.S. and Japan, ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to Tokyo next week.