(07.06.2019)
The report also expresses concern over the pressure the government is applying on the protests against the new base construction in Okinawa, and advised against infringing on the freedom to demonstrate in opposition of public policy, and suggested the government cooperate with the protests and related journalism.
The new report once again criticizes the Japanese government, stating that almost none of the previous report’s recommendations have been implemented.
(02.06.2019)
“It could have been me…” At an emergency memorial and protest held June 2 to remember the murder of a woman by a serviceman in the U.S. Marine Corps in Chatan, Okinawa in April, participants prayed for the victim to rest in peace and confirmed the importance of thinking of the incident not as someone else’s sorrow but as an event directly involving each and every person in Okinawa.
(12.06.2019)
In a prefectural referendum in February, a decisive 72 percent of voters in Okinawa expressed opposition to the base relocation.
Tamaki’s pledge to halt the base transfer led to his overwhelming victory in the gubernatorial election last September.
Suzuyo Takazato, a leading member of the Okinawa peace citizens liaison association, said the authorities are not allowed to proceed with construction work because it ignores residents‘ opinions manifested in a recent gubernatorial election. “Moreover, riot police should treat protesters as human beings,” she said.
On Guam, a third military base is being built.
In addition to an Air Force base and a Navy base, Guam will be the host of a Marine Corps base to accommodate almost 5,000 Marines who are being relocated out from Okinawa.
The suspension reflected local concerns, which disapproved of the military base but feared that the relocation may potentially result in a long-lasting US presence on the land. Subsequently, a civil group in Okinawa collected 93,000 signatures asking the government to hold the referendum.
Danny Tamaki, the son of a U.S. Marine and Japanese mother, was elected governor of Japan’s Okinawa island on Sunday on an anti-U.S military presence platform, defeating a candidate backed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling bloc, domestic media reported.
Participants also held a one-minute silence to pay respect to the late governor of Okinawa, Takeshi Onaga, who died of cancer on Wednesday, in the midst of his aggressive anti-US base campaign against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration.