Japan Press Weekly

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2013 January 23 - 29 [OKINAWA]

Okinawan delegation directly urges PM Abe to remove Osprey

A delegation of Okinawans on January 28 went head-to-head against Prime Minister Abe, calling for the immediate withdrawal of the Osprey deployment as well as the closure and removal of the U.S. Futenma base.

The Okinawa’s largest-ever delegation consisted of all 41municipal leaders, all 41 local assembly leaders, and 33 out of 48 prefectural assemblypersons which include five Japanese Communist Party members. JCP member of the House of Representatives Akamine Seiken also joined the delegation. They took part in a rally and a demonstration on the previous day.

The delegation submitted a petition to the prime minister and also to the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry, the Cabinet Office, and the U.S. Embassy in Japan.

The petition states that Okinawan people are suffering from Osprey’s noise pollution and the nearly 6,000 U.S. crimes which have occurred since Okinawa’s return to Japan in 1972. It also states, “Even 40 years after the return, the U.S. forces in Okinawa act as if they still occupy the prefecture. This tests Japan as a nation where the sovereign power resides with the people.”

In meetings with ministers in charge of foreign affairs and defense, the delegation pointed out that the U.S military operates Osprey aircraft in a dangerous manner on a daily basis and that in October and November alone, the prefectural government observed 318 Osprey flights which were in violation of the Japan-U.S. agreement.

Defense Minister Onodera replied, “The ministry will examine the actual status of Osprey operations.”

Later on the same day at a press conference, Okinawa Prefectural Assembly Chair Kina Masaharu said, “Leaders of administrative and legislative branches of all local governments in Okinawa converged to petition the central government. The state should recognize Okinawan people’s strong determination to resist.”

The delegation’s co-leader and Naha mayor Onaga Takeshi expressed his intention to continue the unified struggles against Osprey with a direct petition to Washington.


Related article:
> Okinawa’s all municipal leaders rally in Tokyo for withdrawal of Ospreys [January 28, 2013]