Opposition to US base rises in Japan

With election day in the Japanese island of Okinawa just around the corner, prominent candidates slam US military presence in Japan and urge the removal of the base from the island.

The candidates running for governor in the island of Okinawa, where a US airbase is located, have taken this policy to reflect the Japanese people and especially the Okinawans’ growing hatred and anger towards American militarism in the region, the Associated Press reported.

Japanese former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama left office earlier this year due to people’s growing disfavor with him over this controversial issue. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Hatoyama’s successor, doesn’t seem to be expecting a better destiny since public opinion remains opposed to the matter.

The deadlock was intended to be resolved in a deal made in 2006 between Japan and the United States about the relocation of the base to a less crowded area, but no progress has been made to materialize the plan.

Kan believes that the US military presence is vital to the establishment of security, particularly now that threats from North Korea seem to have disturbed the region.

The biggest protest against the base was made in 1995 when US forces raped a twelve-year-old girl.

“Whichever candidate wins, there is no quick solution to the issue,” said Koichi Nakano, political science professor at Sophia University in Tokyo.

“The Japanese government is going to be caught being unable to please either the US or Okinawa,” he added.