Still Occupied 67 Years after the War?

Okinawans demand closure of U.S. bases

Kyodo


NAHA, Okinawa Pref. — Okinawans expressed anger Wednesday over the alleged rape of a local woman by U.S. sailors, an incident that came hot on the heels of another alleged sexual assault involving a marine in the prefecture.

Calls to remove all U.S. bases from Okinawa swelled in response to the rape allegations, with Miyoko Ashimine, head of a local group dealing with gender issues, demanding their immediate closure.

"With Ospreys in the sky and weapons on land, where can local residents walk (in safety)?" asked Ashimine, referring to the U.S. Marine Corps' recent deployment of tilt-rotor MV-22 Ospreys to the Futenma air station on Okinawa Island despite safety concerns.

The chairman of Okinawa's prefectural assembly, Masaharu Kina, said local residents have suffered since the end of World War II because of the presence of U.S. bases.

"The United States says it will enforce strict discipline every time there is an incident, but that won't resolve anything," Kina said.

"The U.S. forces seem to view Okinawa as their colony or occupied territory," said Hiroshi Ashitomi, 66, who took part in sit-in demonstrations against the planned relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma farther north on Okinawa Island.

"Women's rights were trampled on again because the (U.S.) bases are here," Ashitomi said. "Okinawa's anger has built up to the point where we will accept nothing less than the immediate shutdown of all the facilities."