Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has said it will not be feasible to entirely remove a controversial US base from the island of Okinawa.
The US Marines' Futenma base is deeply unpopular with many residents and removing it had been a key election pledge of the prime minister.
But on a visit to the island, Mr Hatoyama said "realistically speaking, it is impossible" to fully relocate it.
The island is home to over half the 47,000 American troops based in Japan.
Mr Hatoyama, speaking on his first visit to Okinawa since becoming prime minister, said maintaining the base in some form was needed for national security, under Japan's post-war military alliance with the US.
"I really feel sorry as I visit here today that I must ask for the Okinawan people's understanding that part of the base operations would have to stay," he said.
He called on the Japanese people to be "willing to share the burden, because the bases are necessary for national security".
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