The new U.S. Navy Hospital that has been under construction on Camp Foster as a replacement for the current Navy Hospital on Camp Lester has been completed, and the Japan-US Joint Committee approved the transfer of the facility from Japan to the U.S. Military on Jan. 24.

In the future, according to Japanese Ministry of Defense, the facility will be transferred to the U.S. formally by a decision by the Japanese Cabinet. The Japanese Government will then process an intergovernmental agreement to finalize the transfer, but there is still ahead a substantial relocating time from Camp Lester before the deal is finalized.

The northern part of Camp Lester has already been returned, and the rest of the base will be returned once the transfer of the hospital is complete.

Further, officials at the Ministry of Defense explain that “Even when the Navy Hospital is completely relocated, There are other facilities on Lester, such as residential areas, that need to be relocated before the land can be returned. Because a relocating plan for the residential areas has not been arranged yet, the exact timetable for returning all of Camp Lester is still unknown.”

The Navy Hospital on Camp Lester consists of a total of 13 buildings including medical care and lodging facilities, and a blood center, a total of 56,000 square meters.

The construction of the new Navy Hospital on Foster was started in May 2009.

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