Japan Press Weekly

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2011 November 30 - December 6 [OKINAWA]

Okinawa prefectural assembly protests against DM official’s outrageous remark

The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly on December 2 unanimously adopted a resolution in protest against a remark made by a Defense Ministry official in relation to the Futenma base relocation and called for the Defense Minister’s responsibility for appointing him to the post in the first place.

Okinawa Defense Bureau chief Tanaka Satoshi reportedly said on November 28, “Before you rape someone, do you tell her you are going to rape her?” in response to a question regarding when the national government would submit the environment report on the construction of a new U.S. base in Henoko, Okinawa’s Nago City. He was dismissed from his post the next day.

The resolution stated that due to the existence of U.S. bases, Okinawa “has been forced to endure indescribable hardships, extraordinary pains, and an infringement of basic human rights for 66 years ever since the end of WW II.”

The remark not only insults Okinawans but also exposes the lack of conscience of the person in charge, ignores women’s human rights, and tramples on human dignity, said the resolution.

On the same day, Okinawa Prefectural Assembly Chair Takamine Zenshin handed over the resolution to Defense Minister Ichikawa Yasuo, who visited Okinawa to offer his apology for Tanaka’s remarks.