9 hours ago
Thousands to call for US troops' exit from Okinawa
Amid growing anger, tens of thousands of anti-US base protesters are expected to stage their largest rally in 20 years.
By Musun Kim
Producer for Al Jazeera English's bureau in Seoul, South Korea
Okinawa, Japan - On Sunday, tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in what could become the largest anti-American military base rally in more than two decades on the Japanese island of Okinawa.
The recent alleged rape and killing of a 20-year-old Japanese woman by Kenneth Shinzato, a 32-year-old civilian employee of the Okinawa-based US Kadena Air Base, has reignited decades-long resentment among locals towards the heavy American military presence - and partly towards their own central government in Tokyo.
The sentiment dates back to more than seven decades ago, when 150,000 Okinawans - around one quarter of the island's population at the time - were killed in the fierce Battle of Okinawa, as the US tried to build a bridgehead to attack Japan's mainland towards the end of World War II.
"Ever since, America has kept their bases," Moriteru Arasaki, a professor emeritus of history at Okinawa University, told Al Jazeera.
More:
http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/asia/2016/06/thousands-call-troops-exit-okinawa-160617105533170.html
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Massive rally planned in Okinawa to protest slaying of woman by U.S. base worker
Kyodo
May 22, 2016
NAHA, Okinawa Pref. – A massive rally is expected to be held in Okinawa to protest the latest crime by a U.S. base worker, organizers said Sunday, with the incident stoking the underlying resentment about the heavy U.S. military presence in the island prefecture.
The organizers — including local political parties, businesses and citizens’ groups opposed to the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within the prefecture — hope to make the rally, likely to be held next month, comparable to the one following the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl in Okinawa by three U.S. servicemen.
Around 85,000 people were mobilized for that event in 1995. The rape triggered a wave of public outrage and was instrumental in pushing the governments of Japan and the United States to strike a deal in 1996 on the return of the Futenma site to Japanese control.
Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga is likely to attend the rally, where participants are set to adopt a resolution of protest for the Japanese and U.S. governments, the organizers said.
Misconduct by U.S. personnel has been a constant source of frustration and anger among Okinawa residents over the years.
More:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/22/national/politics-diplomacy/massive-rally-planned-okinawa-protest-alleged-murder-local-woman-u-s-base-worker/#.V2R_luT2awk
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Protesters Rally Against US Military in Okinawa: 'Killer Go Home'
'It just keeps on happening.'
by Nadia Prupis, staff writer
Monday, May 23, 2016
Common Dreams
Thousands of people held protests over the weekend in front of a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa, Japan in response to the rape and killing of 20-year-old Rina Shimabukuro by an American former sailor.
Roughly 2,000 people attended the protest organized by dozens of women's rights groups based on the island, where more than two-thirds of U.S. bases in Japan are located. They rallied outside the front gates of the Marine Corps headquarters at Camp Foster, holding signs that read, "Never forgive Marine's rape," "Killer go home," and "Withdraw all U.S. forces from Okinawa."
Suzuyo Takazato, a representative of Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence, told Stars and Stripes that the rally was organized to mourn Shimabukuro and to renew the long-held demand to remove all military bases from Okinawa. The protest comes just ahead of President Barack Obama's scheduled trip to Japan to attend a summit and visit Hiroshima on Friday.
"This incident is a prime example of the violent nature of the military," Takazato said. "This incident reminds us that it can happen to any women on Okinawa, us, our daughters, or granddaughters. Reducing the presence of the military is not good enough. All the military bases must go."
More:
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/05/23/protesters-rally-against-us-military-okinawa-killer-go-home
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Thousands Protest U.S. Okinawa Base
By ABC News
O K I N A W A C I T Y, Japan, July 21
Tens of thousands of protesters formed a chain around a major U.S. air base today in a show of opposition to the American military presence in Japan.
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U.S. bases take up about 20 percent of the island of Okinawa, with 30,000 troops stationed there.
There was no independent confirmation of the protesters’ numbers, but the demonstration appeared to be one of the largest anti-base protests in years. The human chain stretched for 11 miles around the air base. Organizers claimed to have mobilized more than 25,000 people for the chain — almost as many as the U.S. servicemen and -women on Okinawa.
In several areas, the protesters stood three or four deep. Many wore headbands with anti-base slogans and came with their children. “As teachers, we have vowed never to send our students to war again,” said Isao Kaneshiro, head of a local teachers’ union. “I want President Clinton to know that we don’t want his troops here.”
The protest, organized by local labor unions and civic groups, was peaceful, and there were no reports of arrests or incidents.
More:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=83109&page=1
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It won't make much difference. Military people enjoy getting off base and whooping it up in occupied countries.
A flippant comment dissing a deeply serious problem doesn't work. Military people give themselves special permission to really "unwind" in Japan, sadly, and the people are treated horribly, as if the war is still ongoing, and no respect at all is due the "host" population.
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