Japan Press Weekly

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2015 December 2 - 8 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Court battle begins over Henoko base plan

A court battle between Okinawa and the central government over the new U.S. base construction in Henoko began at the Naha Branch of the Fukuoka High Court on December 2.

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on the following day held a press conference in the Diet building and expressed the party’s full support for Okinawa Governor Onaga Takeshi, adding, “The JCP will increase our anti-base movement in solidarity with Okinawans.”

Shii said that it is significant that Governor Onaga in his position statement challenged not only the Henoko landfill work but also the way democracy and local autonomy are being trampled on now in Japan.

Shii pointed out that the Okinawa base issue began immediately after the war’s end with the seizure of Okinawan land by the U.S. military and the expansion of U.S. bases with the force of “bayonets and bulldozers”.

He stressed the importance of the questions Onaga raised in court the previous day: whether Japan accepts yet another foreign base in Okinawa in defiance of the will of the majority of Okinawans who have chosen to reject the new base in a series of recent elections.

Past related articles:
> Okinawans’ sit-in protest against US base construction marks 500th day [November 19, 2015]
> Central gov’t sues Okinawa governor for resisting US base construction in Henoko [November 18, 2015]