Update: 17,000 Japanese Circle U.S. Marine Base in Peaceful Protest

17,000 Japanese Circle U.S. Marine Base in Peaceful Protest (Update)

 

Jay Alabaster
The China Post (AP)
May 17, 2010

Thousands of Japanese linked hands and encircled a Marine Corps base in Okinawa on Sunday to protest its presence on the island, putting more pressure on Tokyo to resolve an impasse over the base’s future.

About 17,000 residents surrounded the Futenma air base early in the afternoon, chanting slogans and completing a human chain twice for several minutes each time, city official Hitoshi Nakou said. The base covers about 1.9 square miles (4.92 square kilometers), and sits in the middle of Ginowan, a city of about 93,000.

To read the updated story at the China Post, click here.

 

Boot the Bases

 

Adrian Brown
SBS | Dateline
May 10, 2010

Recently 90,000 protestors declared that US bases are no longer welcome on the island of Okinawa. If the voices of dissent continue, Japan and the US face a serious blow to their 50 year relationship.

Video Journalist Adrian Brown of SDS | Dateline provides a detailed overview of the situation in Okinawa that has been absent from most American televisions.

Produced by SBS | Dateline
Distributed by Journeyman Pictures

To find out more about Adrian Brown’s report or to read the transcript of the 
SDS | Dateline feature, Japan’s Other Voices — Boot the Bases, click here.

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Reports: Hatoyama, Clinton to Discuss US Base

 

Eric Talmadge
Forbes.com (AP)
May 17, 2010

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who will reportedly meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton this week, vowed Monday to do all he can to resolve an impasse over the future of a major American Marine base by the end of the month.

Hatoyama is under increasing pressure to come up with a plan to move operations off the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on the southern island of Okinawa in keeping with a pledge he made before becoming Japan’s leader last September.

To read the full story at the Forbes.com, click here.

 

U.S. Air Base Surrounded by Human Chain of Protesters

Demonstrators form a human chain around Futenma air station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture on Sunday, May 16. KYODO PHOTO

U.S. Air Base Surrounded by Human Chain of Protesters 

The Japan Times (Kyodo, AP)
May 16, 2010

About 17,000 people formed a human chain around Futenma air station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on Sunday, calling for the return of the land used by the U.S. Marine Corps facility and protesting plans to move its operations elsewhere in the prefecture.

Ginowan Mayor Yoichi Iha and Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine were among those braving strong winds and rain for the demonstration and read out a joint statement calling on the central government to give up on its plans to move it to the Henoko district in Nago.

To read the full story at the Japan Times online, click here.

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Additional information on this story can be found at the links below:

AFP Photo

Okinawa Residents Protest at US Air Base   AFP,  May 16, 2010

Japan Reluctant to Antagonize US Over Air Base  Press TV, May 16, 2010

 

Okinawa Marks 38th Anniversary of Reversion to Japan

Okinawa Rally May 15, 2010

Okinawa Marks 38th Anniversary of Reversion to Japan

 

Bangkok Post (AFP)
May 15, 2010

Thousands of people rallied in Okinawa on Saturday to mark the 38th anniversary of its reversion to Japan from US occupation, as the island seeks to cut its still heavy US military presence.

Around 2,500 people marched in several groups around the Japanese subtropical island, organisers said, chanting: “Let’s create a peaceful Okinawa without military bases.”

To read the full story at the Bangkok Post, click here.

 

Massive Okinawa “13 Kilometer Human Chain” Protest Announced For May 16

Massive Okinawa “13 Kilometer Human Chain” Protest Announced For Sunday, May 16

 

Global Post
May 11, 2010

A massive 13 kilometer long human chain will protest against the Futenma relocation of the American military base in Okinawa on May 16, 2010, according to Sankei.

Mayor Youichi Iha told a news conference on Tuesday that people in Okinawa Prefecture want the central government to negotiate with the US to remove the bases from Okinawa…

To read the full story at globalpost.com, click here.

 

US Military Base Impasse Could Topple Japan Leader

 

Eric Talmadge 
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AP)
May 13, 2010

It is possibly the most controversial U.S. military facility in the world after the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Local residents like to call it the world’s most dangerous base. An impasse over its future could bring down the government of a key U.S. ally.

But this hotspot isn’t in Kyrgyzstan, or Afghanistan.

To read the complete story at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution web site, click here.

 

Japan’s Kagoshima Stages Rally to Protest U.S. Base Relocation

 

Xinuha
May 8, 2010

Some 5,000 people rallied at a park in the city of Kagoshima Saturday to protest against the government’s plan to relocate some functions of a major U.S. military base from Okinawa Prefecture to Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, said reports from the port city on the southern coast of Kyushu island.

Present at the gathering were the three mayors from the island, including Isen town mayor Akira Okubo, who rebuffed Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama when talking about his relocation proposal in a meeting held Friday. “I conveyed (Tokunoshima) residents’ firm sentiment against (the proposal),” Okubo was quoted by Kyodo News as saying at the rally, which was organized by members of the Kagoshima prefectural assembly, excluding assembly groups of the Democratic Party of Japan.

To read the full story at Xiahua web site, click here.

 

Another Battle of Okinawa

 

Despite protests, the U.S. insists on going ahead with plans for a new military base on the island.

By Chalmers Johnson
Los Angeles Times
May 6, 2010

The United States is on the verge of permanently damaging its alliance with Japan in a dispute over a military base in Okinawa. This island prefecture hosts three-quarters of all U.S. military facilities in Japan. Washington wants to build one more base there, in an ecologically sensitive area. The Okinawans vehemently oppose it, and tens of thousands gathered last month to protest the base. Tokyo is caught in the middle, and it looks as if Japan’s prime minister has just caved in to the U.S. demands.

In the globe-girdling array of overseas military bases that the United States has acquired since World War II — more than 700 in 130 countries — few have a sadder history than those we planted in Okinawa.

To read Chalmers Johnson’s complete opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times, click here.

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For more information about Chalmers Johnson, visit his selected bibliography page on usmvaw.com, by clicking here.

Or visit the Japan Policy Research Institute (JPRI), by clicking here.

 

Reversal on Futenma Promise Could Have Political Cost for Hatoyama

 

David Allen
Stars and Stripes at allvoices.com
May 7, 2010

Yukio Hatoyama’s future as Japan’s prime minister could be cut short after he admitted Tuesday that his campaign promise to move all U.S. Marine Corps air operations off Okinawa was ill conceived.

Political analysts say Hatoyama’s inability to “relieve the burden of Okinawa,” which hosts the bulk of the U.S. military in the country, makes him appear weak and could lead to his resignation.

He has yet to announce which of several alternatives he will recommend for shifting Marine air operations on Okinawa once Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is closed. But there have been calls for his resignation, some from his own party, if he fails to produce a favorable plan.

To read David Allen’s analysis at allvoices.com, click here.

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Additional reporting on this issue can be found at the links below:

Japan Mayors Rebuff PM Hatoyama’s Okinawa Alternatives  BBC News, May 7, 2010

Island Mayors Rebuff Hatoyama   The Japan Times, May 7, 2010

Japanese PM Plans Second Trip to Okinawa to Brief Residents on U.S. Base Relocation Plan Xinhuan,  May 7, 2010

Futenma Farce   The Economist,  May 6, 2010

Hatoyama Blasted for U-turn   The Straits Times, May 6, 2010

Japanese PM’s Reversal on US Base May Have Political Cost   Voice of America, May 5, 2010