July 12, 2016
A day after the Abe Cabinet suffered a crushing defeat in Okinawa in the July 10 Upper House election, the Defense Ministry’s Okinawa bureau forcibly transported materials for the U.S. helipad construction at the Takae district in Higashi Village. This appears to be part of preparations for resuming the construction work which was suspended during the election.
On July 11 at 6 a.m., officers of the Okinawa prefectural police’s riot squad and private security guards were deployed along a road to the main gate of the U.S. Northern Training Area adjoining the Takae district. Amid protests from local residents, construction vehicles carrying construction materials and equipment entered the gate.
Japanese Communist Party member of the Higashi Village Assembly Isa Masatsugu, who is also a member of a residents’ group opposing the helipad construction, said, “It is tyrannical for the Abe government to ignore Okinawan people’s anti-base verdict that was given in the Upper House election.”
Asked by the press at the prefectural government office building, Governor Onaga Takeshi criticized the Abe government for transporting construction materials as if to launch an attack without warning, and said, “Such a move will only deepen Okinawan distrust of Tokyo.” He went on to say that the act represents the authoritarian stance the Abe government will take toward local autonomy and democracy.
Past related articles:
> Okinawans rally in protest against US helipads construction [January 20, 2015]
> Okinawans’ sit-in protest against new US military helipads marks 7th anniversary [June 30, 2014]
On July 11 at 6 a.m., officers of the Okinawa prefectural police’s riot squad and private security guards were deployed along a road to the main gate of the U.S. Northern Training Area adjoining the Takae district. Amid protests from local residents, construction vehicles carrying construction materials and equipment entered the gate.
Japanese Communist Party member of the Higashi Village Assembly Isa Masatsugu, who is also a member of a residents’ group opposing the helipad construction, said, “It is tyrannical for the Abe government to ignore Okinawan people’s anti-base verdict that was given in the Upper House election.”
Asked by the press at the prefectural government office building, Governor Onaga Takeshi criticized the Abe government for transporting construction materials as if to launch an attack without warning, and said, “Such a move will only deepen Okinawan distrust of Tokyo.” He went on to say that the act represents the authoritarian stance the Abe government will take toward local autonomy and democracy.
Past related articles:
> Okinawans rally in protest against US helipads construction [January 20, 2015]
> Okinawans’ sit-in protest against new US military helipads marks 7th anniversary [June 30, 2014]
