Japan Press Weekly

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2008 February 13 - 19 [US FORCES]

JCP Shii calls for nationwide solidarity for the removal of U.S. bases

In the wake of the sexual assault by a U.S. Marine against an Okinawan girl and the Iwakuni City mayoral election, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on February 14 called on the public to unite in efforts to prevent the functions of U.S. bases from being strengthened in the name of “realignment” and to reduce U.S. bases in Japan in size and then remove them from Japan.

At a press conference held in the Diet Building, Shii condemned the vicious crime, saying, “Recalling the 1995 gang-rape by U.S. servicemen against an elementary school girl, all of Okinawa is understandably full of fury at crimes repeatedly committed by U.S. servicemen.”

Shii pointed out that the U.S. Marine Corps, to which the suspect belongs, is the first troops to invade foreign countries and kill innocent civilians as seen in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although the Japanese government is asking U.S. forces in Japan to toughen discipline, repeated crimes and accidents involving U.S. Marines show the fact that it is impossible for such a force to eliminate such incidents, Shii said, adding “There is no way to truly prevent such crimes other than reducing and removing U.S. bases.”

Referring to the February 10 Iwakuni City mayoral election in which the incumbent candidate Ihara Katsusuke, who opposed the relocation of the U.S. carrier-borne aircraft unit, lost by a narrow margin, Shii criticized the central government for putting pressure on Ihara by unjustifiably cutting the subsidy for the ongoing construction of the city hall.

Judging from the result of exit polls, Shii said, the election result does not mean that Iwakuni residents accepted the relocation plan.

Shii expressed his determination, saying, “It is important to work together to oppose the strengthening of the functions of U.S. military bases and perpetuating them in the name of a ‘realignment’ and to reduce back and then remove them. The JCP will actively promote the struggle to this end in Okinawa as well as in the rest of the country.”