Let's join people's power to set Okinawa free of U.S. bases -- Akahata editorial, May 15

Thirty years have passed since the administrative rights over Okinawa were returned to Japan.

Okinawans, who had suffered from U.S. military occupation for 27 years, expected that they would be completely free of U.S. bases if Okinawa was returned to Japan and enabled to share constitutional rights. Their indomitable struggle finally achieved Okinawa's "reversion to their homeland."

But the reversion agreement concluded between the governments of Japan and the U.S. allowed U.S. bases to be maintained on the island, and Japan also signed a secret agreement allowing nuclear weapons to be brought into Okinawa.

Okinawa's task of removing U.S. bases has been carried over into the 21st century.

Fundamental solution is necessary

The U.S. retaliatory war that followed the terrorist attacks on the United States last September has thrown into sharp relief the fact that U.S. bases in Okinawa are used as stepping stones for U.S. forces to take action any place in the world.

In Okinawa, a U.S. Marines expeditionary force is stationed on a division scale to be sent abroad for military intervention in any region of the world.

This state of affairs is continued by a pledge Japan's government made to the U.S. to allow U.S. bases in Okinawa to maintain their forward base capacity, even after the reversion to Japan of administrative rights over Okinawa.

The two governments are pushing ahead with the construction of a state-of-the-art base in the area for U.S. Forces, in the guise of a relocation of the U.S. Marines Futenma Air station, the aim being to strengthen and perpetuate a major stepping stone for the U.S. forces.

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Okinawa's tourist industry, which is the mainstay of the prefecture's economy, sustained a devastating blow simply because of the presence U.S. bases there. This is another reason again why U.S. bases can't coexist with Okinawa's economy and people's safety.

U.S. bases in Okinawa are located in the middle of densely-populated areas and U.S. soldiers' crimes are taking place frequently, including murders, rapes, and arson attacks.

In 1995, three U.S. Marines gang raped an Okinawan schoolgirl, but due to their extraterritorial rights, Japanese police couldn't take the suspects into custody for investigation.

Okinawans are constantly threatened by U.S. bases causing accidents, noise pollution, and environmental destruction.

Government economic development measures as a reward for local people's endurance will only help reduce residents' hardships slightly. It can't be the way for Okinawa's real development.

Only when all damages caused by U.S. bases are ended, will Okinawa's local industries and economy be able to develop. Local business circles agree.

Okinawans expected that the reversion to Japan would pave the way for the removal of U.S. Bases. It stands to reason that with this problem left unsolved, frustration and difficulty will persist.

During the U.S. military occupation era, the U.S. Forces were given freedom to use their bases to take action against Vietnam. Yet, U.S. forces are using Okinawa as a stepping stone for military interventions in every corner of the world. This shows that things are going back to the occupation days.

The ground battle on Okinawa took the lives of many residents, and those who survived were detained in concentration camps. Their homes and farms were bulldozed flat and were cordoned off by barbed wires. This was how the U.S. Forces established their bases on Okinawa. Even in times of war, this was a clear violation of international law banning the expropriation of private property.

Such military bases, a product of an illegal act, have been maintained on Okinawa for sixty years. How extraordinary this is in world history!

The Japanese government is responsible for this because it allowed the U.S. Forces to continue to occupy Okinawa under the San Francisco Peace Treaty, and is even now giving them special favors for the free use of military facilities, which has no parallel in the world.

The Japanese government has been rejecting the prefectural people's urgent call for the revision of the Status of U.S. Forces in Japan Agreement (SOFA), a symbol of Okinawa's humiliating position.

'No U.S. bases, please'

Only when U.S. bases are removed, will Okinawa be able to make progress in its economic development toward a brighter future.

In a public opinion survey, nearly 90 percent of respondents answered that U.S. bases must be withdrawn immediately or reduced step by step. For all those who want gradual steps to reduce the bases, an equal number want an Okinawa without any military bases.

Convinced that the overwhelming majority of Okinawans are demanding "No to U.S. bases," we must further the struggle to get the U.S. bases withdrawn from Okinawa by overcoming any obstructions by the government.

The task of establishing a base-free and peaceful Okinawa is the task of all Japanese people. (end)