Anti-base activists petition U.S. embassy to give up plan to construct new base in Okinawa

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Anti-base activists petition U.S. embassy to give up plan to construct new base in Okinawa

Anti-base activists on November 5 visited the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo to submit a petition demanding immediate closure and return of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station, cancellation of the plan to construct a new base in the Henoko district of Nago City in Okinawa, and withdrawal of the plan for realignment of the U.S. forces in Japan.

Representatives of labor unions and citizens’ groups took part in this action organized by the Central Action Committee against the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty (Anpo-Haki).

At the embassy, Anpo-Haki Secretary General Hayasaka Yoshiro stated, “It is unacceptable that a senior U.S. government official recently said that the base construction in Henoko is the only realistic plan. U.S. bases in Okinawa impose hardships and heavy burdens on Okinawans. It’s not too much to say that Okinawa is still under a U.S. military occupation. All Okinawans oppose the new base construction plan.”

National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) executive Imai Fumio said, “Base sites in Okinawa should be restored without condition because they were built on land illegally seized by the U.S. forces using ‘bulldozers and bayonets’.”

Vice Secretary General of the All Japan Teachers and Staff Union (Zenkyo) Isozaki Shiro said, “Japanese people are still angered at the 1995 gang rape of a young girl by U.S. marines. Immediate return of the Futenma base is the only way to respect Japanese people’s wishes.”

- Akahata, November 6, 2009