Japan's defense minister has briefed the mayor of Nago City in Okinawa Prefecture on the start of the relocation of US Marines based in the prefecture to Guam as part of the government's effort to alleviate Okinawa's burden of hosting US bases.

While on a visit to Nago City, Defense Minister Nakatani Gen said about 100 members of a logistical support unit have begun to move to Guam.

He said the move is highly important, and that the government will continue to work with its US counterpart.

In 2006, the Japanese and US governments agreed to the transfer of more than 4,000 Marine Corps members and their families to Guam.

The Japanese government says the relocation is happening in phases.

Nago Mayor Toguchi Taketoyo asked Nakatani to address citizens' concerns about the construction of a US air base in the city's Henoko district which will serve as the new location of the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station.

The troop transfer is part of a larger plan to relocate about 9,000 Marine Corps members from Okinawa to Guam and the US state of Hawaii.

The relocation is expected to cost 8.6 billion dollars, of which Japan will pay up to 2.8 billion dollars of the cost.

Headquarters, barracks and a training site, which will also be used by Japan's Self-Defense Forces, are being built in Guam.