U.S. to return Yokohama navy housing area to Japan

The Japan-U.S. Joint Committee has agreed to return the U.S. Navy's Negishi Dependent Housing Area to Japan by June 30. The Defense Ministry announced this on Thursday. The 43-hectare area spans the Naka, Minami, and Isogo wards in Yokohama.

On March 13, 2026, Japan's Defense Ministry announced that the Japan-U.S. Joint Committee had agreed to return the U.S. Navy's Negishi Dependent Housing Area to Japan. The return is scheduled by June 30 of the same year. The site, covering 43 hectares, is located across Yokohama's Naka, Minami, and Isogo wards. The Negishi area has long served as housing for U.S. military families, and this agreement marks its handover to Japanese control. According to the ministry's statement, the decision stems from bilateral discussions, with no details provided on post-return usage plans. This move fits into ongoing realignments of U.S. facilities in Yokohama under the Japan-U.S. alliance framework.

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