Some people in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan held a rally in Henoko, Nago City on the 18th to protest against the plan to relocate the US military base in Japan to the local area. The local people said that they had fought against the Japanese central government for 7,000 days on this matter, and this rally once again showed their determination to oppose the US military base.
The Japanese and US governments agreed in 1996 to relocate the US military base located in Futenma, Okinawa Prefecture, to Henoko, Nago City. The relocation required land reclamation and two new airstrips. The people of Okinawa expressed strong opposition to this and demanded that the US military base be completely moved out of Okinawa.
On May 15, 2022, in Okinawa, Japan, Okinawa people protested strongly outside the venue, demanding to reduce the size of the U.S. military base in Okinawa or even withdraw all U.S. military bases.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Xiaoyu
On April 19, 2004, local people held a sit-in protest rally for the first time at Henoko Beach.As of the 18th of this month, the struggle has lasted 7,000 days.“We have been forced to fight for a long time, and I hope people will understand our situation,” said one of the people who participated in the rally.
Local media in Okinawa reported on the 18th that Henoko and other places have been troubled by the noise of the US military’s abandoned ammunition disposal sites for more than 10 years. One of the disposal sites is only about two kilometers away from residential buildings. The U.S. military made loud noises without warning when disposing of some unused shells, causing physical and mental burdens on nearby residents, and cracks appeared in some houses.
On May 17, 2015, in Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, protesters held a slogan “No Henoko New Base” at a rally.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Tian
A local resident said: “The huge shock came suddenly and almost shattered the glass window, which brought me a lot of mental pressure.”
The U.S. troops stationed in Japan have extraterritorial rights in Japan and are not subject to Japanese jurisdiction. Safety accidents caused by US military bases, aircraft noise, US military crimes and other issues have long plagued the local people in Okinawa. (Zhang Jing) Return to Sohu to see more
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