Japan Press Weekly

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2016 June 15 - 21 [US FORCES]

Okinawa Governor demands USMC withdrawal

Okinawa Governor Onaga Takeshi gave a speech on June 19 at a rally to mourn the death of a young local woman who was raped and killed by a former U.S. marine, saying that he will work to remove the U.S. Marine Corps from Okinawa.

Onaga said, “As the governor of Okinawa, I’ll take the lead in working for the reduction of U.S. bases, including the withdrawal of the U.S. Marines Corps from Okinawa.” He is the first sitting governor expressing the intent to demand the removal of the USMC.

The rally participants unanimously adopted a resolution pressing for the pull-out of the USMC. Prior to this, on May 26, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly passed a statement for the first time calling for the removal of all U.S. Marine units from Okinawa.

The call for the USMC withdrawal has become an overwhelming demand of Okinawans.

Past related article:
> Supra-partisan Okinawa assemblymen call for withdrawal of Marines and revised SOFA [June 11, 2016]