Okinawans protest against relocation of Futenma base within Okinawa

Japan Press Weekly

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Okinawans protest against relocation of Futenma base within Okinawa

Heads of municipalities and assembly members in Okinawa are strengthening local anti-base actions with the Hatoyama Cabinet’s ambivalent posture concerning the relocation of the U.S. Futenma Base presently in Ginowan City.

On October 28, five Okinawa Prefectural Assembly members of opposition parties elected in Naha City had talks with Naha Mayor Onaga Takeshi to work together for the success of a residents’ rally against the construction of a new U.S. base in the sea off Henoko district of Nago City or other parts of Okinawa scheduled to be held on November 8 in Ginowan City.

Mayor Onaga, who is one of the co-representatives of the organizing committee of the rally, said, “It is regrettable to have to be faced with the ambivalent national policy, but Okinawa is rising up in solid opposition,” stressing the need to work together to make the rally a resounding success.

While Defense Minister Kitazawa Toshimi expresses support for the construction of a new base in Henoko, Foreign Minister Okada Katsuya has indicated he is in favor of the consolidation of the Futenma Base and the U.S. Kadena Base, also located in Okinawa.

Japanese Communist Party members Maeda Masaaki and Toguchi Osamu expressed that now is the time for Okinawans to get together, regardless of whether they are conservative or progressive, to reject the base burdens they have shouldered for 65 years since the end of WW II. They requested that the city provide transportation and other services for residents in order to take part in the rally.

The five prefectural assembly members distributed flyers in front of the Prefectural Government Building on the same day calling for residents to participate in the rally.

The organizing committee of the rally was established under the initiative of prefectural assembly members of opposition parties. Ginowan City Mayor Iha Yoichi, House of Councilors member Kina Shokichi (Democratic Party of Japan), and Prefectural Assembly member Tamaki Yoshikazu (independent) are also on the committee.

Kadena City

The Kadena Town Assembly on October 28 adopted a unanimous resolution calling on Foreign Minister Okada Katsuya to withdraw his proposal to consolidate the Futenma and Kadena bases.

The statement stressed that the consolidation plan will impose more base burdens on residents and should never be accepted. It demands that the national government negotiate with the U.S. in accordance with Okinawans’ wishes for removal of bases from Okinawa.

On the same day, Kadena Town Mayor Miyagi Tokujitsu, the town administration, and the town assembly agreed to hold a rally on November 7 to show the strong local opposition to the consolidation plan. They plan to announce an organizing committee on October 30.

- Akahata, October 29, 2009