U.S. Marines in Okinawa conduct training exercises in public areas

Japan Press Weekly

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

U.S. Marines in Okinawa conduct training exercises in public areas

In violation of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), the U.S. forces in Okinawa are conducting exercises outside their bases in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan. This was discovered by Akahata staff.

The U.S. Marine Corps command in Okinawa admitted in a written statement in response to Akahata that its mine-resistant armored vehicles (MATV) are carrying out exercises in city areas. The MATV is a state-of-the-art combat vehicle developed for missions in Afghanistan.

The SOFA requires that U.S. forces conduct training exercises within its facilities.

The U.S. Marines has sent its mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles (MRAP) on runs outside its bases in Okinawa. One of them collided with a tour bus in Nago City in January this year.

According to lawyer Arakaki Tsutomu, the U.S. forces have continuously abused the right given by the SOFA to transfer troops and vehicles between facilities and actually had fully-armed troops marching in the streets in Okinawa. It is significant that the U.S. Marine command has admitted in its official statement that training exercises are taking place outside its bases, he said.

- Akahata, April 9, 2010