A Japanese mayor whose city is set to be the site of a relocated U.S. military base pleaded Thursday for the plan to be dropped, as Tokyo and Washington push ahead with the move.

Susumu Inamine, who has just been re-elected on a fiercely anti-base platform as the mayor of Nago, Okinawa, said the burden of hosting the 47,000 United States personnel based in Japan should be spread across the country.

Prominent U.S. liberal activists on Wednesday pledged solidarity with Okinawa residents opposed to a U.S. military base, despite efforts by Japan and the United States to finalize a relocation plan.

More than 100 scholars and activists including the filmmakers Oliver Stone and Michael Moore signed a joint statement opposed to construction of a U.S. Marine base in Nago, a quiet town on the east coast of the subtropical Japanese island, to replace the aging and unpopular Futenma Air Station.