Battle over US military base in Japan intensifies

In 1996 the Japanese and American governments concluded an agreement that would move the U.S. Marine Corp Futenma Air Station which sits in the middle of Ginowan city to a location on the northeast coast of Okinawa.  20 years have passed since and Futenma remains where its always been while the people of Okinawa and the prefectural government have fought not for the air stations relocation to another part of the island, but to any place but Okinawa.

Last December the outgoing governor in a completely surprising move issued the necessary environmental impact statement giving the green light for Futenma to be relocated after having been opposed to the bases relocation for his entire term as governor.

With Shinzo Abe's return to the Prime Minister's office pressure has been building on the new elected governor to give the final approval something he his loath to provide.

  
  

Okinawa construction has led to activists being dumped offshore

A diminutive, silver-haired warrior, Fumiko Shimabukuro (85), has one goal: to stop a US military base from being built near her home. For nearly two decades, she has been an iconic local figure in the struggle against the Marine facility in Japan’s Okinawa prefecture. Now the battle that has defined her sunset years appears to be nearing a climax. 

Shimabukuro was recently knocked unconscious in scuffles with the police. She is one of over a dozen elderly protesters injured since Japan’s government began last year its long-delayed survey to build the base. This week, US security detained two demonstrators, intensifying a standoff that has becoming increasingly treacherous. 

The two protesters were released after angry Okinawans converged on a local police station. Coast guard officers have recently taken to grabbing anti-base activists from kayaks and dumping them 4km offshore. Many fear it is only a matter of time before someone is badly hurt or killed.

For their efforts retribution was necessary and so it has come. 

Budget policy

The budget cut Tokyo’s annual subsidy to Okinawa by 5 per cent, a sign, say locals, they are being punished for the result of November’s election. Just in case the message is not clear, they say, Abe has twice snubbed Onaga – Okinawa’s main political representative – on recent visits to Tokyo.

Onaga this month ordered a review of his predecessor’s controversial decision to green light the base. But the review is not due to release its findings until the summer, by which time it may be too late to stop construction. Workers have begun laying giant concrete blocks around the bay, destroying its coral, say the protesters.