50 years of Japan-US Alliance

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

50 years of Japan-US Alliance
Mechanism of US privileges - Part I

Unwanted intrusion on Japanese soil meets public criticism

“We want a base-free Okinawa!” Holding banners and placards up high, about 90,000 people on April 25, 2010 converged on Okinawa to oppose the construction of a new U.S. base in the Henoko district of Nago City as a replacement for the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City.

It was a historic moment in which Okinawans, including all municipal heads, banded together in opposition to U.S. bases on their land, similar in scope to the 1995 massive rally when 85,000 people gathered in protest against the gang rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. Marines.

Birth of an anti-base mayor

A watershed was the victory of an anti-base candidate in the Nago City mayoral election in January 2010. Tens of thousands of local residents, who have taken part in a non-violent movement against the1996 Special Action Committee on Okinawa (SACO) agreement on the move of the U.S. Futenma base to Nago’s Henoko district, brought into power an anti-base city government led by Inamine Susumu. Inamine was elected Nago City mayor with his election promise, “I won’t let anyone build any base either on our sea or on our land.

Inamine said, “I’m proud of my fellow residents playing a leading role in getting Okinawans together in opposition to the relocation of the Futenma base.”

(To be continued)