Japan Press Weekly

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2012 May 9 - 15 [OKINAWA]

Okinawan people rally to oppose Osprey deployment

Okinawans on May 13 assembled in front of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City to hold a rally demanding the removal of the base and opposing the planned deployment of MV-22 Ospreys to the base.

The Japanese Communist, Social Democratic, and Okinawa Social Mass parties hosted the rally together with labor unions, an anti-base construction citizens’ group, and a plaintiffs’ group involved in a lawsuit over the U.S. Kadena air base noise pollution.

JCP House of Representatives member Akamine Seiken in the rally said, “Japan’s government went along with the U.S. on projects to refurbish the base on large scale. This means that the base will remain in Okinawa with its functions strengthened. Aiming at withdrawal of all bases from Okinawa and the rest of Japan, let’s work to increase people’s awareness of the need for the abrogation of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.”

Two days before the rally, Okinawa Governor Nakaima Hirokazu visited Tokyo for a meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office. At a post-meeting press conference, he again expressed his opposition to the plan to deploy the vertical take-off and landing U.S. military aircraft to the Futenma base.

Pointing out that the sprawling Futenma base is situated right in the middle of Ginowan City, he said, “It’s like having a U.S. base located in Tokyo’s central districts like Hibiya Park, the Ginza, or Shinjuku. No one would accept the deployment of Ospreys to such a highly populated area.”