Tomorrow US President Obama will meet in Tokyo with the new Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Hatoyama. The US air base at Futenma, in Okinawa, is one of the topics on the agenda. The base occupies the largest part of a congested city, and it is next door to a major university.
Not so long ago, a Futenma-bound US helicopter crashed and burned on that university campus, spewing radioactive material helter skelter. That was not nice. No one wants a burning helicopter on their lawn, especially one whose ashes can kill.
Okinawa--the island with all the US bases--is smaller than the US state NJ. If you have 2 hours, you can drive the length of it taking time out for lunch and a little sightseeing. There are sixteen (16!) US military installations on Okinawa. How many similar-sized US bases are in NJ?
(two: Fort Dix and Fort Monmouth)
Okinawa Looks Like This
Peaceful: a beautiful place for a walk
自己紹介
- Chura
- Born and raised in the USA (NJ), I’ve spent most of my adult life in Japan. One of my favorite places in Japan is Okinawa. To me, Okinawa is a land of stories and an island of music, magic and mystery. The music is shima-uta, songs sung to the rhythm of a three-stringed lute called a sanshin. The magic is in the colors of land, sea and sky. The mystery? Mystery begins where the line between legend and verifiable human memories begins to blur. I am a member of the Archaeological Institute of America, chapter chief of a sanshin study society, and a founding member of the Marine Culture Research Association of Okinawa.