January 16, 2015
Amid strong protests from Okinawans, the Japanese Defense Ministry’s Okinawa Defense Bureau on January 15 forcibly resumed the on-sea project as part of preparation for the construction of a new U.S. base in Nago’s Henoko district.
The defense bureau early on this day again transported heavy machinery and construction materials into U.S. Camp Schwab, the planned construction site, under the cloak of night, and got the construction work started without delay.
Citizens from across the prefecture assembled in front of the base gate to hold a sit-in protest. Protesters from outside Okinawa, including from Tokyo and Kyoto, also joined the sit-in action.
A 21-year-old woman living in Nago City said, “I’m shocked that the Abe government is moving ahead with the base construction in defiance of our firm opposition. I want people my age to know what’s going on in Okinawa.”
A male participant from Tokyo angrily said, “The resumption of the project indicates that the Abe administration’s plan is to ignore the demands of the general public.”
At sea, anti-base citizens in fishing boats and canoes called on laborers to walk off the project site by shouting, “U.S. bases are hotbed of wars and crimes!” Japan Coast Guard vessels surrounded the citizens in order to restrict their protest actions.
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On the same day in Tokyo, a delegation of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly made representations to the ministries of defense and foreign affairs, the Cabinet Office, and the U.S. Embassy in Japan, demanding cancellation of the base construction and a halt to the preparatory project in the sea off Henoko.
The 12-member delegation includes lawmakers of the Japanese Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Komei Party, and the Political Local Party of Okinawa as well as independents.
Past related article:
> Gov’t transports base construction materials under cover of darkness [January 12&13, 2015]
The defense bureau early on this day again transported heavy machinery and construction materials into U.S. Camp Schwab, the planned construction site, under the cloak of night, and got the construction work started without delay.
Citizens from across the prefecture assembled in front of the base gate to hold a sit-in protest. Protesters from outside Okinawa, including from Tokyo and Kyoto, also joined the sit-in action.
A 21-year-old woman living in Nago City said, “I’m shocked that the Abe government is moving ahead with the base construction in defiance of our firm opposition. I want people my age to know what’s going on in Okinawa.”
A male participant from Tokyo angrily said, “The resumption of the project indicates that the Abe administration’s plan is to ignore the demands of the general public.”
At sea, anti-base citizens in fishing boats and canoes called on laborers to walk off the project site by shouting, “U.S. bases are hotbed of wars and crimes!” Japan Coast Guard vessels surrounded the citizens in order to restrict their protest actions.
**********
On the same day in Tokyo, a delegation of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly made representations to the ministries of defense and foreign affairs, the Cabinet Office, and the U.S. Embassy in Japan, demanding cancellation of the base construction and a halt to the preparatory project in the sea off Henoko.
The 12-member delegation includes lawmakers of the Japanese Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Komei Party, and the Political Local Party of Okinawa as well as independents.
Past related article:
> Gov’t transports base construction materials under cover of darkness [January 12&13, 2015]
