TOKYO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Japan and the United States started a two-day talk on Thursday over the U.S. military realignment plans in Japan, which have already met strong local oppositions.

    The senior working-level talks, between Japanese officials from foreign ministry, defense agency and U.S. defense officials, are expected to be around the U.S. request for Japan to shoulder 75 percent of the 10-billion-U.S.-dollars cost for relocating about 8,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa, most of whom will go to Guam, according to Kyodo News.

    Tokyo and Washington are striving to finalize the overall realignment package by the end of this month. However, local residents from related areas of the realignment have voiced strong protests against U.S. military presence.

    Also on Thursday, representatives from the municipalities affected by the realignment plans visited the Defense Agency and Foreign Ministry to urge the central government to reconsider the plans.

    Sekinari Nii, governor of the Yamaguchi prefecture, said in Tokyo that the realignment plan is "unacceptable," after his meeting with Foreign Minister Taro Aso.

    On March 12, an overwhelming 89 percent of the resident voters in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi prefecture voted "no" to a plan which aims to relocate 57 carrier-based warplanes to the U.S. Marine Corps' base in the city.

    The plan is a part of an overall realignment package on the U.S.military presence in Japan which was preliminarily approved by Tokyo and Washington last October.

    Japanese residents in related areas have long complained about crime, noise and crowding associated with the U.S. military presence. Recently, people in Okinawa and those in Kanoya, southern prefecture of Kagoshima have protested against the plans which may affect their life. Enditem