Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has apologised to people in Okinawa for the burden of US bases on the island. Kan was on his official first visit to Okinawa to mark 65 years since the end of a bloody World War II battle. His predecessor Yukio Hatoyama resigned earlier this month over the poor handling of a row over the relocation of the Futenma airbase. <br/><br/>Kan has assured US President Barrack Obama he will relocate the base to the north of the island as agreed. His pledge comes despite anger from locals who have staged mass protests, demanding that the base be moved off Okinawa entirely. <br/><br/>Islanders have been angered by incidents involving US troops based there, including the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old Japanese girl and a helicopter crash in 2004.