TOKYO (AP) – Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki yesterday urged Japan’s central government to do more to reduce the United States (US) military presence in the southern island group as it marked the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan after 27 years of American rule, amid frustration and bitterness over a lack of support from the mainland.
Tamaki said Okinawa has come a long way since the devastation of World War II and nearly three decades of US rule, which ended when it reverted to Japan in 1972.
But the tiny island group’s yearslong demand for the mainland to share its security burden remains unresolved. “I call on the central government to share with the entire nation the significance of Okinawa’s reversion and the importance of permanent peace that Okinawans have long craved for,” Tamaki said.
Ceremonies marking the anniversary were held simultaneously in two locations – one in the Okinawan city of Giowan, home to a disputed US air station, and the other in Tokyo. The separate ceremonies symbolise the deep divide in views over Okinawa’s history and ongoing suffering.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he takes Okinawa’s concerns seriously and will make efforts to reduce the burden while still maintaining US military deterrence on the islands.
Kishida and his minister in charge of the islands were in Okinawa, where hundreds of protesters staged a rally on Saturday demanding a speedier reduction of US military forces, as fears grow that Okinawa may become a front line of conflict amid rising China tensions.
More protests were held yesterday on Okinawa, including one in the prefectural capital of Naha, where nearly 1,000 people renewed their demands for peace.
Resentment and frustration run deep in Okinawa over the heavy US presence and Tokyo’s lack of effort to negotiate with Washington to balance the security burden between mainland Japan and the southern island group. Because of the US. bases, Okinawa faces burdens including noise, pollution, accidents and crime related to American troops, Okinawan officials and residents said.
Adding to Okinawa’s fears is the growing deployment of Japanese missile defence and amphibious capabilities on Okinawa’s outer islands, including Ishigaki, Miyako and Yonaguni, which are close to geopolitical hotspots.
Okinawa was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, which killed about 200,000 people, nearly half of them Okinawan residents. Okinawa was sacrificed by Japan’s imperial army to defend the mainland, and many Okinawans are skeptical that the Japanese military would protect them in future conflicts, experts said.
The US military kept its troop presence on the island group for 20 years longer than most of Japan, until 1972, due to Okinawa’s strategic importance for Pacific security.
Many Okinawans had hoped that the islands’ return to Japan would improve the economy and human rights situation as well as base burdens.
Today, a majority of the 50,000 US troops based in Japan under a bilateral security pact and 70 per cent of military facilities are still in Okinawa, which accounts for only 0.6 per cent of Japanese land.
