TOKYO (AP) – Okinawan Governor Deni Tamaki on Sunday called on Japan’s central government to do more to reduce the US military presence in the southern island group as it marks the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan after 27 years of US rule. , amid frustration and resentment at the lack of support from the continent.
Tamaki said Okinawa has come a long way since the devastation of World War II and nearly three decades of American rule, which ended when it returned to Japan on May 15, 1972. But the continent’s longstanding demand for the continent’s small island group not allowed.
“I call on the central government to share with the whole nation the importance of the return of Okinawa and the importance of the lasting peace that Okinawans have longed for,” Tamaki said.
The anniversary ceremonies were held simultaneously in two places – one in the Okinawan city of Joan, where the controversial US air station is located, and the other in Tokyo. The individual ceremonies symbolize the deep division of views on the history of Okinawa and the continuing suffering.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he took Okinawa’s concerns seriously and would work to reduce the burden while 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 Saturday demanding a faster reduction in US military forces, as fears that Okinawa could become a front line in the conflict growing tensions in China are growing.
More protests took place in Okinawa on Sunday, including one in the capital of Naha Prefecture, where nearly 1,000 people renewed their demands for peace.
Outrage and frustration are deep in Okinawa over the strong US presence and Tokyo’s lack of efforts to negotiate with Washington to balance the burden of security between mainland Japan and the southern island group.
Because of the United States. bases, Okinawa faces burdens, including noise, pollution, accidents and crimes involving U.S. troops, officials and residents of Okinawa say.
Adding to Okinawa’s fears is Japan’s growing deployment of missile defenses and amphibious capabilities on the outer islands of Okinawa, including Ishigaki, Miyako and Yonaguni, which are close to geopolitical hotspots like Taiwan.
Okinawa was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, killing about 200,000 people, almost half of them Okinawans.
Okinawa was sacrificed by the Japanese Imperial Army to defend the continent, and many Okinawans are skeptical that the Japanese military will protect them in future conflicts, experts say.
The U.S. military maintained its military presence on the island group for 20 years longer than most of Japan, until 1972, due to Okinawa’s strategic importance to Pacific security for deterring Russia and communism.
Many Okinawans hoped that returning the islands to Japan would improve the economy and the human rights situation, as well as the basic burdens.
Today, most of the 50,000 U.S. troops based in Japan under a bilateral security pact and 70 percent of the military are still in Okinawa, representing only 0.6 percent of Japan’s land. The burden increased by less than 60% in 1972 as US unwanted bases were relocated from the mainland.
Emperor Naruhito, in his online speech from his palace in Tokyo, acknowledged that “many problems” remain with Okinawa and said: “I hope that people, including the younger generation, will have a deeper understanding of Okinawa.”
His abdicated father, Akihito, redeemed for the scars of the war in his father’s name, Hirohito, was nearly struck by a Molotov cocktail during a 1975 visit as heir to the throne, but continued to take a special interest in Okinawa.
US President Joe Biden, who is due to visit Japan next week, praised the strong US-Japan alliance and their shared values and vision.
“I am deeply grateful for Japan’s strong support for democracy, freedom and the rule of law, as well as for Okinawa’s contribution to advancing these ideals,” Biden said in a statement.
The biggest hurdle between Okinawa and Tokyo is the central government’s insistence that a US naval base in a crowded neighborhood, Futenma Air Station, be relocated to Okinawa instead of relocating elsewhere, as many Okinawans are demanding.
Tokyo and Washington initially agreed to close the station in 1996 after the rape of a schoolgirl by three US servicemen in 1995 led to a mass movement against the base.
Earlier in May, Tamaki petitioned the government of Kishida and US Ambassador to Japan Ram Emanuel to significantly reduce the US military in Okinawa, close the Futenma base immediately and scrap a new base in Henoko.
Economic, educational and social development in Okinawa is lagging behind as Japan enjoys a post-war economic boom, fueled by lower defense spending due to the US military presence in Okinawa.
The Central Government Development Fund has improved Okinawa’s infrastructure since the reconstruction, but the growth of local industry, which was largely hampered during US rule, is still largely limited to tourism.
Today, the average household income in Okinawa is the lowest, and unemployment is the highest in Japan’s 47 prefectures. If land taken by the US military is returned to the prefecture for other uses, it will result in three times more revenue for Okinawa than the island now makes from bases, Tamaki said recently.
Okinawan authorities have regularly faced denials from the United States in criminal and environmental investigations.
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This story corrected the location of the ceremony in Okinawa in Ginowan, not in the capital of Naha Prefecture.
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