World IN BRIEF : JAPAN : U.S. May Return Some Okinawa Land

The United States and Japan are near agreement on a plan to remove some U.S. troops from Okinawa and return to landowners some property used by the U.S. military there, defense officials said. “We are nearing agreement and we should be able to announce something soon,” Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said in advance of visits to Japan next week by President Clinton and Defense Secretary William J. Perry. Bacon declined to discuss details of the agreement, but another senior defense official said, “It is likely to involve some turnover of land and some minor movement of troops from Okinawa to [other areas in] Japan.” The military plan will be discussed at a meeting in Tokyo on Monday between Perry and Japanese Defense Minister Hideo Usui.