Japan and the United States issued a joint statement Friday on the relocation of a U.S. Marine Corps base in Okinawa, saying that the airbase will be moved to the Henoko coast, Nago City within the prefecture, basically in line with an existing accord struck in 2006.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama confirmed that Japan and the United States have struck a fresh accord on the relocation of a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa Prefecture.

The premier, who held a telephone conversation with U.S. President Barack Obama earlier in the day, told reporters that Obama expressed his "gratitude that an agreement was made in the two-plus-two," the Kyodo News reported.

The two-plus-two refers to a bilateral committee for discussing security matters, consisting of defense and foreign ministers of the two countries.