NEWPORT BEACH

The Okazaki friendship statue has become the subject of a not-so-friendly dispute between those who want it relocated to the Central Library and those who say it’s just fine where it is. Named Nakayoshi, which in English means “friendship,” the sculpture was a gift to Newport Beach from Okazaki, Japan, one of Newport’s sister cities. Some want to move the statue from its location behind City Hall to a grove of pine trees adjacent to the Central Library. But others want it to stay put. Tom Hyans, president of the Central Balboa Homeowners Assn., told the City Council last week: “Please don’t remove this bit of class and culture from the peninsula.”