Japan Press Weekly

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2013 February 20 - 26 TOP3 [OKINAWA]

Okinawa to appeal directly to President Obama to remove Ospreys

Local assembly-level councils in Okinawa will form a joint liaison committee opposing the deployment of Ospreys with the intent to continue to organize actions such as making a direct plea to U.S. President Barack Obama.

An organizing group of the anti-Osprey rally in which more than 100,000 people last September took part announced this plan on February 22 at the Okinawa prefectural government office.

The joint liaison committee will consist mainly of the prefectural assembly, the mayors’ council, the council of town and village heads, the city assembly chairs’ council, and the council of town and village assembly chairpersons.

Prefectural Assembly Chair Kina Masaharu of the Political Local Party of Okinawa will preside over the new organization. Expressing his determination, he said, “We will build our resolve into a big movement in order to put pressure on the United States.”

The joint liaison committee aims to have the 12 MV22 Ospreys deployed at the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma air base removed from Okinawa; stop another deployment of 12 more MV22s to the base scheduled for July; block CV22 Ospreys from being deployed to the U.S. Kadena Air Force base; and increase public awareness in Japan and the United States about Okinawan opposition.