(Over 20,000 residents of Okinawa gathered on Sunday, November 8th, to protest U.S. plans to relocate a military base to Oura Bay, an environmentally sensitive habitat of the Okinawa manatee)
I’m here in Okinawa, getting ready to film the Okinawa prefectural rally against plans to relocate the American military base called Futenma Marine Air Station to the environmentally sensitive Oura Bay, by the town of Henoko. Henoko residents have successfully staged sit-in protests against the relocation for 12 years. With the election of the Democratic Party in Japan in September, suddenly the relocation to Henoko is the hottest political potato between the U.S. and Japan. The new government is questioning the necessity of the relocation but the U.S. is adamant the base be relocated. The relocation would require 300 acres of emerald waters to be land filled to accommodate 2 mile-long runways for the Marine Corps. The new prime minister has indicated that the will of the Okinawan people should help set the course for these plans and the Okinawans are hosting a large rally today to make their voices heard today.
The weather is beautiful today, with clear skies and temperatures in the low 80s and organizers are optimistic the turn-out will be high. One indication of their optimism was on view last evening in the town of Kadena, adjacent to Kadena Air Force Base, the largest American air base in Asia. Japan’s new Foreign Minister, in an attempt to find a compromise, had recently proposed that Futenma be merged with Kadena. At 5pm yesterday afternoon, 2,500 Kadena residents gathered, all sporting matching green headbands to rally against this proposal. The crowd was multi-generational, from school boys in their baseball uniforms to students, businessmen and the elderly. Everyone clapped loudest when speakers shouted how sick they are of the relentless noise pollution from the F-15s, F-16s and now F-22s that call Kadena home. The local housewives’ representative prefaced her speech by say, “Let me start by saying we are opposed to Futenma being relocated to Henoko. But we don’t want it relocated here, either. Kadena keeps breaking their promise not to fly jets between 10PM and 6AM.” To support her grievance, the schoolboys on the baseball team members carried placards stating “Give us Back our Quiet Nights!”
Linda Hoaglund
Click here or view the video below to watch a clip from the upcoming movie ANPO. The film, to be released in June of 2010, documents the long history of Japanese protest against U.S. military bases in Japan. Sign up for the RSS feed to be notified of new posts, and the newsletter to stay up-to-date on the film’s latest developments.
