NAHA, Might 18 (News On Japan) –
A peace march calling for the discount of the burden brought on by U.S. navy bases was held in Okinawa on Might seventeenth, marking 53 years because the prefecture’s reversion to Japan.
With no clear progress towards base discount and Japan’s Self-Protection Forces persevering with their shift towards the southwest, individuals expressed hopes for a “peaceable island with out bases.”
The march happened round key U.S. navy amenities, together with the Futenma Air Station in Ginowan and Kadena Air Base, which spans Kadena and different cities. Protesters voiced their opposition to the continued heavy navy presence and demanded a shift towards peaceable improvement.
Protests in opposition to U.S. navy bases in Okinawa have an extended and deeply rooted historical past, tracing again to the postwar period when the U.S. maintained direct management over the islands even after Japan regained sovereignty in 1952. Okinawa remained below U.S. administration till its reversion to Japan in 1972, throughout which period massive parts of land have been seized—typically forcibly—for navy use, displacing residents and leaving scars that persist to this present day. The heavy focus of U.S. forces in Okinawa, which hosts about 70% of all U.S. navy amenities in Japan regardless of accounting for lower than 1% of the nation’s land space, has led to a long time of resentment. Incidents such because the 1959 crash of a U.S. fighter jet into an elementary college in Ishikawa Metropolis and the 1995 gang rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan lady by three American servicemen ignited large-scale demonstrations and drew nationwide consideration to the problem. These occasions served to crystallize public anger, with tens of hundreds rallying in opposition to the perceived injustice and unequal burden positioned on the prefecture.
The protests have continued throughout a long time, adapting to new developments whereas sustaining the central demand for the discount or elimination of U.S. bases. Opposition to the relocation of the Futenma Air Station to the coastal space of Henoko in Nago has been significantly intense. Native referendums, together with one in 2019 during which over 70% of voters opposed the relocation plan, have demonstrated overwhelming resistance, but building continues below the central authorities’s course, deepening a way of political marginalization amongst residents. The arrival of Osprey plane, noise air pollution, environmental degradation, and the concern of accidents and crimes have all fueled public discontent. Whereas the Japanese authorities and the U.S. preserve that the bases are important for regional safety, many Okinawans argue that their rights and security are being sacrificed disproportionately for a nationwide technique they’ve little say in. The continuing protests, together with peace marches, sit-ins, and authorized actions, replicate a sustained civil motion rooted in native id, historic reminiscence, and a robust need for demilitarization and peace.
Supply: Kyodo
