Peace and Human Rights in Palestine- Anna Baltzer lecture @Kyoto University Tues, November 16

A Palestinian Protester with hopes that peace will come
(Photo Courtesy of Annainthemiddleeast.com)

Anna Baltzer serves as the voice of the voiceless. The granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, and a Jewish-American human rights activist, she speaks on behalf of the Palestinians and Israelis alike searching for a peaceful solution to the war and aggression confronting the people living in Occupied Palestine and Israel. As part of a speaking tour throughout Japan, this Tuesday, November 16th, Anna will address an audience at Kyoto University about the occupation of Palestine and the search for peace and respect for human rights in the region.

Anna writes on her blog about how she first learned of the Palestinian Occupation:

Like many Americans and many Jews, I grew up with a positive view of Israel as a peace-seeking democracy. Israel symbolized to me the one protection that Jews had against the type of persecution that had plagued families like mine throughout history. I saw the Jewish state as a tiny and victimized country that simply wanted to live in peace but couldn’t because of its aggressive, Jew-hating Arab neighbors.

In 2003, during a backpacking trip through the Middle East, I began to meet Palestinian refugees from 1948. I didn’t know who the Palestinians were, or where Palestine was, and through my new acquaintances I began to hear a narrative about the history and present of Israel/Palestine that was entirely different from the one I had learned growing up in the United States.

My first reaction was disbelief, and anger. Families told me stories of past and present military attacks, house demolitions, land confiscation, imprisonment without trial, and torture. It seemed that these actions were not carried out for the protection of Jewish people, but rather for the creation and expansion of a Jewish state at the expense of the rights, lives, and dignity of the non-Jewish people living in the region. It was hard for me to believe that Israel could act so unjustly.

Not believing what I heard, I decided to do some research to prove myself right. Immediately, I was shocked to find how much I didn’t know about the situation on the ground. Not knowing who or what to believe anymore, I decided to go to see the situation with my own eyes. Since I returned, I’ve dedicated my life to informing fellow Americans and others about what I found, and what they can do to support a just peace for all peoples in Israel/Palestine.

After spending eight months as a volunteer with the International Women's Peace Service* in the West Bank, she has written countless articles about the Palestinian experience in Israel, and has detailed her experiences in her critically acclaimed photo reportage, Witness in Palestine (available for screening). She also supports the work of a the Palestinian group, Slingshot Hip Hop, who utilizes hip hop as a "tool to surmount divisions imposed by occupation and poverty."

Anna is not alone in her struggle for peace in Palestine. In fact, she is just one of many Palestinians, Israelis, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Americans, and other people from diverse backgrounds working for a peaceful solution. By working side-by-side with Palestinians and speaking out against the occupation, Anna gives us hope that there will one day arise a non-violent, peaceful solution that will allow the people in Israel and Palestine to live in peace with one another once again. She also gives us hope that the voices of the countless numbers of Jews and Christians and Muslims and peoples of all faiths working together to overcome the painful violence that characterizes the lives of people in Palestine and Israel, will be heard.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Exclusive - Anna Baltzer & Mustafa Barghouti Extended Interview Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Rally to Restore Sanity

"Israelis will never be free unless the Palestinians are also free"- Mustafa Barghouti in a joint interview with Anna Balzer on the Daily Show

Event information
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[Date] Tuesday, November 16, 2010, from 18:30 to 21:30 (doors open at 18:00)
[Venue] Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies,
Kyoto University, Yoshida Minami campus, Basement Lecture Hall (Map)

Registration - Advance registration is required at: anna.in.kyoto [at] gmail.com

★Please register in advance so handouts and brochures can be prepared
Brochure fee: 1000 yen

[Languages of event] English and Japanese (Japanese translation is provided)

For all enquiries, contact: anna.in.kyoto [at] gmail.com

ACCESS:
★ Yoshida Minami campus is the south campus, on the opposite side of the road from the main campus with the famous clock tower. The closest entry point to the site is from the west gate of Higashiooji Street. Enter the west gate, go straight and then turn right towards the venue: a modern five-storey building. The venue is in the eastern side with glass facade on the first storey. The building houses the Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies. Please check the map before visiting. An image of the building can be found here and here (the photograph of the building is on the right).


*The International Women's Peace Service welcomes human rights volunteers. Click here for more info.

U.S. Military sells Manga in Japan to promote the Security Alliance

TOKYO: The US military is using manga to teach a new generation in Japan about the importance of the countries' half-century security alliance.

A new comic book series features an American boy called Usa-kun - a word play on USA and ''usagi'', Japanese for rabbit - who wears a hooded jacket with bunny ears and befriends a Japanese girl, Anzu Arai.

In the first issue of Our Alliance - A Lasting Partnership, to be published online today, the boy tells Anzu that he has come to defend her home, as they are ''important friends''.

The United States is publishing the Japanese-language comic as the countries mark the 50th anniversary of the security treaty, and two days before the 65th anniversary of the US dropping an atom bomb on Hiroshima.

 Over the past year, Japan's new centre-left government strained ties by publicly toying with the idea of moving a controversial US airbase off the southern island of Okinawa.

In the four-part comic series, the two characters ''explore and learn about the US military in Japan and its role in the US-Japan alliance''. The manga format was ''a very common way of communicating'', said Major Neal Fisher, of the US Forces' public affairs office in Japan.

''A lot of people love manga … Manga is a very light-hearted way to carry information'' on where the US bases are, what they do and how they co-operate with the Japanese forces, he said.

The US, having led the occupation of Japan after World War II, has 47,000 troops stationed around the country.

The comic will be published on www.usfj.mil/manga.

Agence France-Presse
http://www.smh.com.au/world/latest-us-signals-are-in-manga-20100803-115h6.html

Charity Concert for Nepalese Orphanage @Kyoto Sat, Nov 13

Keep your calendars open for "Get on the Mat!" a charity concert for Nepalese Orphans to take place in Kyoto on Saturday, November 13 at Honen-in Temple.

Performances include shakuhachi/calimba player Robbin Lloyd , +RAW- elements featuring Max and yun-han and Shohei Kuratsu on sax (click here to listen to one of their collaborations), and accordion/trumpet duo Garage.

This is one of several annual events to raise money for the Laliguras Children's Home in Kathmandu, including a concert and a charity walk (organized by Kevin Ramsden).

According to event organizer and +RAW- elements member Max Dodds:

'Get On The Mat!' is part of a series Kevin started years ago and has included Get On the Desk/Bus/etc., which refers to the goal of the charity event at the time. The children consist of five boys and five girls, most of whom are orphans and had nowhere to go. We provide all of their expenses: food, clothing, health, education and shelter. Part of the proceeds will also go into a fund we are starting to build a school in Kathmandu. This is a long term goal; however, we are committed to meeting the needs of ten kids at a time until we can expand. We also have ten sponsor families in Kyoto who pay for roughly half the costs. Occasionally when they need something else, we arrange to buy it with any funds we have left over from the charity events. These have included a generator, a mini library, medical expenses, and soon a laptop. The goal [of the event] hasn't changed this time, so we are going to get on the tatami mats at Honen-in.

When asked about what prompted him to start organizing these events for the Nepali orphanage, Max responded:

Initially I was doing gigs and donating proceeds to charity when Kevin approached me about organizing music for his events. It has led to our collaboration in the laliguras project. ('Laliguras' refers to a Nepalese flower.)

Max also explained how his relationship with the Nepalese orphanage began:

I have visited the orphanage once so far (Kevin has twice). I met the director in Kyoto some years back and made a connection with him. I started sending books and school supplies at first and later generated a little money from small charity events. Kevin expanded everything by asking friends to sponsor a child and the orphanage grew from there.

I made an instant connection when I met the children. Even though we cannot communicate linguistically, we played in a park for a few hours one day, running races, arm wrestling, playing badminton with ancient racquets, singing and laughing, and I look forward to seeing them again, hopefully next year.

Other than live music, baskets from Zimbabwe will be sold to help fund the Zienzele AIDS children organization. Items will also be sold to support a Guatemalan women's empowerment NPO.

The entrance fee is only 2000yen- a small price to pay to bring smiles to the faces of the children of Nepal. Hope to see everyone there!

US for OKINAWA Announces a Study Program for Biodiversity and a Base Free Henoko

US for OKINAWA, a peace action network formed by U.S. and other citizens from around the world living in Japan to support calls for the closure of Futenma Air Base and the halt to new base construction in Henoko, is pleased to announce it is organizing its second study program to Okinawa this year from September 22-26th. The program, titled the “Okinawa Peace Project” will allow participants to witness
Futenma and Kadena Air Bases firsthand, and to enjoy diving, snorkeling and kayaking activities in Oura Bay, site of the planned new base construction. The pristine bay is home to rare forms of biodiversity, including blue coral and the Okinawa dugong, that will be threatened or destroyed by plans to fill in a large swathe of the bay in order to construct the new base.

Given that the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) will be held in Japan this year, the United Nations has designated 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity, and the WWF has named it the International Year of the Dugong, US for OKINAWA aims to raise awareness of the grave environmental risk posed to Henoko from further militarization of Okinawa. US for OKINAWA will organize an action in Henoko on Saturday, September 25th to appeal to COP 10 members to
protect the biodiversity of Henoko.

US for OKINAWA will also use this occasion to express its support for the candidacy of Yoichi Iha in the upcoming November 28th elections for governor of Okinawa. As mayor of Ginowan City, Mr. Iha has demonstrated outstanding and unwavering dedication to the principles of citizen safety and security,
transparent and democratic politics, and peace in Okinawa and the entire East Asia region. Without a doubt, he will serve as governor of Okinawa with unparalleled excellence and integrity.

Local citizens and members of the media are invited to to join US for OKINAWA at various stops in our study program while in Okinawa. For more details of our activities on Saturday, September 23 rd and 25th, please see below.

9/23
08:30 Visit Kakazu no Takadai (view of Futenma Air Base)
10:00 Visit Kadena Base and Information center

09/25
08:30-09:30 Visit to Dugong Hill (Henoko)
15:00-16:00 Beach Clean-up activity at Henoko
16:00-17:00 COP 10 Action “Protect the Dugong” at Henoko!
18:30-19:30 Candle Action in front of Camp Schwab gate

For details of events and activities on September 24th, please contact Emilie McGlone at us.for.okinawa@gmail.com or 080-1295-7612 after September 22nd.

US for OKINAWA was founded in January of 2010 by Peace Boat staff members from the United States citizens residing in Japan. In cooperation with Peace Boat, US for OKINAWA organized its first study program to Okinawa in April of this year. Peace Boat is a Japan-based international non-governmental
and non-profit organization that works to promote peace, human rights, equal and
sustainable development and respect for the environment. Info: www.peaceboat.org

Visit to Dugong Hill (Henoko)
Beach Clean-up activity at Henoko
COP 10 Action “Protect the Dugong” at Henoko!
Candle Action in front of Camp Schwab gate

Kyoto Professor Negotated Secret nuclear trade-off deal for Okinawa: NHK documentary Monday night.

Wakaizumi negotiating secret deal with the U.S. (Image courtesy of NHK)

According to the original agreement between Japan and the U.S., Okinawa would be reverted to Japan in 1972 without the presences of nuclear weapons. However, behind the scenes, a Kyoto Sangyo professor, Wakaizumi Kei convinced then Prime Minister Sato Eisaku that Okinawa would not be handed over to Japan unless Japan allowed U.S. nukes on Japanese soil. In 1969, Sato gave Wakaizumi the green light to draft a secret proposal where Japan would eventually concede the condition calling for a nuke-free Japan, in order for it to be reverted to Japanese sovereignty as planned.

On Saturday night, NHK showed a documentary "The Truth Behind the Reversion of Okinawa" detailing these behind the scenes negotiations. It is based on the 1994 memoirs of late confidential agent Wakaizumi entitled, I wish I could believe there were no other options (Tasaku nakarishi woshinzamuto hossu). After 25 years of silence, he revealed documents which verifying the existence of a secret agreement on nuclear weapons between the U.S. and Japan. NHK will air the program in English and Japanese on Monday, June 21st at 8pm, Tokyo Time. That NHK would show a documentary about such a controversial topic certainly is proof that the majority of Japan is disillusioned by and fed up with the games being played with Okinawan lives.

In an introduction to a November 2009 article that appeared in the Asia-Pacific Journal, research professor for Hiroshima Peace Institute Yuki Tanaka demands that any agreement like this based on nuclear deterrence be considered a "crime against humanity":

The revelation of the details of the secret agreements on nuclear weapons in itself cannot bring about a decisive solution to Japan’s nuclear problems, above all since irrefutable evidence has long been available in U.S. documents and circulated widely among Japanese journalists and researchers. The most important question is not the secrecy concerning the U.S. nuclear weapons program in Japan, but the foundations of that secrecy, i.e., Japanese support for the U.S. policy of nuclear deterrence. In the absence of a clear DPJ policy on the issues, it can be expected that similar secret deals will be made to sustain Japanese support for the U.S. policy of nuclear deterrence, including the presence of U.S. nuclear weapons in Japan....

Thus, the question that requires urgent attention is not whether U.S. nuclear weapons have been or will be brought into Japan secretly, but the entire structure of U.S. nuclear deterrence deployed in Japan. It is precisely this structure that leads American policymakers to view Japan as a “vassal state”; without transforming this policy it will remain impossible Japan’s democracy and freedom of information to function autonomously. If Japan’s new Democratic Party government genuinely wishes to establish an “equal partnership” with the U.S. based upon the principle of national “independence,” it must seriously consider freeing Japan entirely from the U.S. nuclear umbrella and its nuclear deterrence strategy.

It is important to recognize nuclear deterrence policies for what they are: a “crime against peace” as explicated in the Nuremberg principle. This is because “nuclear deterrence” effectively means planning and preparation to commit indiscriminate mass killing, or in other words a “crime against humanity,” using nuclear weapons. In this regard, “nuclear deterrence” is no different from the “nuclear terrorism” that the U.S. and other nuclear powers so strongly condemn.

Okinawa has been the pawn of U.S. and Japan policy games for long enough. It is time to end Okinawa's status as a "vassal state" by halting the secret deals. It is time that the Okinawan people be able to take control of their own destinies.

For more information about the NHK documentary in Japanese, click here. You can watch a preview of the documentary if you click on the grey button on the top right of the page which has a green play button on the left of it (The button reads: 番組予告動画を見る). For information in English, click here.

-Posted by Jen Teeter

U.S. Military's Asia-Pacific Manifest Destiny

I hope to start outlining U.S. military build up in the Asia-Pacific region, and specifically in Japan 

So far there are 4 sections: ASIA-PACIFIC REGION , JAPAN, TINIAN, and GUAM.

ASIA-PACIFIC REGION

The following is an outline of an article by Rick Rozoff at Global Research which details the buildup of the U.S. military in the Asia-Pacific region. Other sources are also included, but unless otherwise noted the data is from the Rozoff article.

Naval Fleets
-6 navel fleets and eleven aircraft carrier strike groups, making it the largest navy in the world.- all 10 of the world's Nitmitz class nuclear-powered supercarriers
- as many aircraft carriers as all other nations combined.
- 70-80 planes and 10-12 naval expeditionary strike groups, ready for deployment on these air craft carriers

Seventh Fleet based in Japan
- it is the largest of U.S. forward-deployed fleets.
- 40-60 ships
- 25-350 aircraft
-20,000-60,000 Navy and Marine Corps personal (11,000 Navy personal on the fleet and and extra 35,000 in Japan according to AEI)
- dispatched every where from Russia Kurile Islands to South China Seas to Indian Ocean

U.S. Mutual Defense Treaties with/ Bases and Missile Defense Systems in:
-Australia
-Japan
-South Korea
-Thailand (Taiwan will receive 200 Patriot anti-ballistic missiles and 8 warships that can be upgraded to fire Standard Missile-3 interceptors)
- New Zealand (no bases or missile defense systems)

Military cooperation w/Asia-Pacific Nations:
-Austraila gave permission to U.S. military to make use of all of its logistics
- New Zealand announced in April that it will remove the ban on the docking of nuclear-powered warships and subs and that joint U.S. military exercises would resume
- U.S.-India joint military exercises in Malabar since 1992 (Japan joined in in 2009)
- U.S., Australia, Britain, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Singapore began Exercise Bersama Shield 2010 on the Malaysian peninsula

Afghanistan War Troops from:
- Australia (1,500 soldiers)
- Japan (supplied naval troops until last year)
- Mongolia
- New Zealand (200 troops)
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Mongolia
- 46 nations in total

(Rozoff article data end)
---
JAPAN

Okinawa
- Okinawan economy not dependent on U.S. bases.  Bases account for less than 10% of Okinawan economy.[8]

Iwakuni Base(map)
- by 2014 59 jet fighters based in US Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Kanagawa (map) will move to Iwakuni Base, making the base twice larger, the biggest air base in Far East Asia.
- 4,000 people (1,900 military personnel and families) will also be moved from Atsugi to Iwakuni
- Citizen opposition group Peace Link, Rim Peace Iwakuni and another local group distributed 2,000 handouts passers-by in 20 minutes on May 5, 2010 (video by Yamaguchi Broadcasting Station in Japanese)

Tokunoshima (map)
- U.S. Marines asking to deploy MV-22 Osprey tilt-roter aircraft on Tokunoshima [1] which is only 200 kilometers away from Okinawa and approximately 400 kilometers form China
- at least 80% of Tokunoshima residents oppose the placement of bases on Tokunoshima (based on petition signatures) [2]
- 34 people killed 4 separate Osprey accidents (July 20, 1992-7 deaths;April 8, 2000- 19 deaths; December 11, 2000- 4 deaths [3]April 9, 2010-Afghanistan- 4 deaths[4])
- Osprey has been used in Iraq[5], Afghanistan[4] and Honduras[6]
- 5,000 rally in Kagoshima City protest the bases relocation plan on May 8, 2010. 3 Kagoshima Prefecture mayors united with the people at rally [7]

TINIAN
-Two-thirds of Tinian is currently leased by the U.S. military as part of the CNMI commonwealth negotiations. [8]


GUAM (map)
Most of the information here was found in LisaLinda Natividad's and Gwyn Kirk's article

- Guam's indigenous Chamorro people arrived on island over 4000 years ago and traded with other islands throughout Micronesia and were self-sufficient [8]
- Spain colonized Guam until 1898 Treaty of Paris when Guam and other colonies in the Pacific were arbitrarily ceded over to the U.S. and other nations, ignoring cultural and political histories of the people.
- President McKinley gave the Navy control over the island [8]
- During WWII, Japan fiercely occupied the island, giving the U.S. navy an opportunity to "reclaim" the island and occupy ancestral Chamorro lands with even more military bases, significantly harming Guam's self-sufficiency.
-After the 1950 Organic Treaty of Guam, the U.S. now refers to Guam as unincorporated territory of the U.S. with one non-voting delegate in the U.S. congress. Its citizens have no voting rights in U.S. presidential elections.
- Julian Aguan reports that the"Bravo" nuclear bomb, one of 60 nukes dropped on the people of the Marshall Islands, exploded only 1200 miles from Guam and is the equivalent of 1.6 or 1.7 Hiroshima bombs every day for 12 years. Guam received downwind exposure from the bomb [10] and have not received compensation for their suffering.
- U.S. bases occupy 1/3 of Guam (Andersen AFB and annexes, US Naval Base and its annexes)
- At present, 90% of Guam's food is imported [8]
- "Guam ranked No.1 in 2007 for recruiting success int he Army National Guard's assessment of 54 states and territories."[9]
- "Death rate for troops from Guam and other U.S. Pacific island territories is higher than any other state or territory"[9]
- Poverty rates on Guam is 25%; 38-41% qualify for food stamps[8]
- U.S. Department of Defense hopes to: relocate 8,600 Marines from Okinawa to Guam and 1000 military personnel from South Korea by 2014; provide additional live-fire training sites, expand Andersen Air Force Base, develop a Marine training base; create berthing for a nuclear aircraft carrier on U.S. Naval base; and erect a missile defense system on the island.[8]
- Japanese government under Aso Adminsitration agreed to contribute $6 billion towards construction of Henoko base and relocation of Marines to Guam[8]
-Military contractors from the U.S.,  Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines are lining up for a piece of the Guam military build-up prize.
- Proposed build-up raises several concerns:
- an additional 80,000 people (47% increase) will be a significant burden on infrastructure, land, and service burden.
- military will take up 2,200 acres of land, one potential site being the oldest Chamorro village  of Pagat which is registered for historical preservation.
- U.S. military will detonate and remove 70 acres of coral reef to make the nuclear aircraft carrier berth in Apra Harbor(map)[8]
- Guam Citizens organize weekly radio program "Beyond the Fence" to raise awareness of military build up on Guam [11]
-I Nasion Chamoru,Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice,Tao’tao’mona Native Rights, Guahan Indigenous Collective, Fuetsan Famalao’an, and We Are Guåhan are some of many Guam based groups mobilizing against the buildup. Famoksaiyanis a California-based Guam diaspora group active in opposing build up.
- Hurao Cultural Camp teaches young children Chamorro language and culture.

[1] Kyodo News, Hatoyama eyeing deployment of MV-22 Ospreys on Tokunoshima: sources (May 1, 2010)
[2] Kyodo News, 80% of Tokunoshima residents are against hosting U.S. base (May 5, 2010)
[3] Wired, Saving the Pentagon's Killer Chopper-Plane (July 2005)
[4] CNN Wire Staff,ISAF: 4 killed in U.S. aircraft crash in Afghanistan (April 9, 2010)
[5] Rotor and Wing,Military/Utility: Osprey Heads to Iraq (April 2007)
[6] Bell Boeing ,Osprey Delivers for Honduran villagers (June 2009)
[7] Kyodo News, 5,000 rally in Kagoshima to oppose U.S. base relocation plan (May 8. 2010)
[8]LisaLinda Natividad and Gwyn Kirk, "Fortress Guam: Resistance to US Military Mega-Buildup," The Asia-Pacific Journal, 19-1-10, May 10, 2010.
[9] Blaine Harden, Washington Post, Guam's Young, Steeped in History, Line up to Enlist, U.S. Territory Pays High Cost in War Deaths (January 27, 2008)
[10] Democracy Now!, Guam Residents Organize Against US Plans for $15B Military Buildup on Pacific Island, Juan Gonzalez interviews Julian Aguan (October 9, 2009)
[11]KPRG, Public Radio for Guam, Beyond the Fence Radio Show (2010)

This post will be reposted indefinitely as updated/edited

Okinawans to Hatoyama: "We have the right to say NO!"

Okinawan protesters demonstrated their resistance to his proposal at every stop on Hatoyama's visit to their island. A Kyoto Action member followed Hatoyama's trail today and posted these at his blog:

9 a.m. - 400 people gather at the Okinawa Prefecture Office

Prefectural Assembly members remind the Hatoyama Administration: "Keep your campaign pledges!"

Futenma Volunteer Group and Ti-da Organization oppose bases at Futenma

2 pm - 200 people young and old gather at Futenma Elementary school expressing outrage at Hatoyama's about face

4 pm - Protesters at Camp Schwab insisting, "We have the right to say NO!"

Meeting with Mayor Inamine at Nago City. 300 protesters watch the meeting through the glass (Hatoyama is standing to the left. Mayor Inamine made clear his absolute opposition to the Hatoyama proposal: "We absolutely cannot accept such a plan.")

Emergency Appeal to Hatoyama: Listen to the Voices of the Okinawan People

Today Kyoto Action held an emergency appeal to Prime Minister Hatoyama--urging him to listen to the voices of the Okinawan people.

Kyoto Action members gathered in front of Takashimaya Department Store in the busiest shopping district in Kyoto and distributed flyers about Hatoyama's trip to Okinawa, his first trip to the island prefecture since taking office. Although Hatoyama previously promised he would not permit the construction of new bases in Okinawa, he has since done an about face: proposing the construction of a new base on Tokunoshima island and also the expansion of Camp Schwab in Henoko.

The site Kyoto Action chose is the most difficult place in Kyoto to distribute information. Most passersby are preoccupied with shopping and tend to ignore protesters. However, today it seemed as though Kyoto Action members were handing away free newspapers. People approached them first--asking for more information about the situtation in Okinawa--rather than the other way around. Members succeeded in passing out 450 flyers with the following information in only an hour:

“We don’t need military bases!” rang the voices of over 90,000 people who participated in the Prefecture-wide rally on April 25th. Okinawan citizens raised their voices, demanding that Futenma, known as the world’s most dangerous military base, be returned to the Okinawan people, and that plans to move bases to other places in Okinawa such as Henoko or White Beach, be cancelled. According to a census, over 90% of Okinawa prefecture residents are opposed to the relocation of bases. 75% of US bases in Japan occupy Okinawa. We can not allow any more bases to be pushed on Okinawa and the lands which the bases occupy must be returned to Okinawa at once.

Ever since the Liberal-Democratic Party decided on a plan to relocate the Airfield at Futenma to Henoko 13 years ago, there have been movements in Okinawa in opposition. Why must yet another military base be built in Okinawa? While emphasizing how dangerous Futenma Air Field, they want to build another one in Okinawa? This irrational plan is what the LDP was trying to force onto Okinawa. Yet, despite pressure to accept the plan, the Okinawan people relentlessly struggled against it, and eventually the Henoko plan was retracted.

However, PM Hatoyama, while saying he will not build another base in Okinawa, is resurrecting the idea of constructing bases in Okinawa again after being denied by the U.S. government. These proposals are practically the same as the LDP’s.- to create a base off the shore from Henoko or at White Beach. This will end up destroying nature and building yet another dangerous base in Okinawa. This is absolutely ludicrous. “We are going to build a base even if Okinawans oppose it.” This seems to be the opinion of some members within the Democratic Party of Japan. We should not be listening to the U.S. government any longer. Isn’t it the voices of the Okinawan people who have been suffering under the pressure of the bases for 65 years since the end of the war whose voices need to be heard? We must join together and oppose the bases in Okinawa!

Today, after meeting with Governor Hirokazu Naikama, a pale-faced Hatoyama dressed in a yellow, short-sleeved Okinawan print shirt, told members of the media at a press conference that he owed an apologies to the Okinawan people for causing them to suffer while searching for a solution and asked for the Okinawan people's understanding in his inability to relieve the burden of the bases.

Prime Minister Hatoyama answering questions about the deterrent power

of the Marines at a press conference after meeting with Okinawan Governor Naikama

For a previous TTT posts about Kyoto Action, click here for a summary of the group's action and here for information about the April 25th Solidarity Demonstration and a video.

- Jen Teeter

Kyoto Solidarity Rally and Prime Minister Hatoyama to visit Okinawa Governor Hatoyama hopes to meet Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima May 4th

This just in: NHK just showed clips of Prime Minister Hatoyama, dressed in an light yellow Okinawan-print shirt, presenting his thoughts on bases in Okinawa after meeting with Okinawa governor Hirokazu Naikama. He emphasized the inevitability of some bases remaining in Okinawa and is suggesting that Futenma Airfield be relocated to Tokunoshima and Camp Schwab. In response, Nakaima stated that Hatoyama is clearly ignoring the voices of the people.

Over 100,000 people joined together in Okinawa to protest against U.S. bases this past Sunday, April 25th. Around 400 people participated in a solidarity open-air tea party, demonstration, and rally where community members could enjoy Okinawan food and music while discussing the occupation of U.S. bases in Okinawa. The following is a video with highlights from the event organized by Kyoto Action (For a previous entry on Kyoto action, click here):



More photos and information in Japanese can be found at the Kyoto Action website.

Coverage in Japanese can be found at Kyoto Shinbun, Asahi Shinbun, and the Mainichi Shinbun.

Despite Prime Minister Hatoyama's proclamation that he will not allow new bases to be built in Okinawa, he is now reconsidering those plans. He is meeting with 3 mayors from Tokunoshima in Tokyo when he returns. Kyoto Action wants to make sure that we all keep an eye on PM Hatoyama in his negotiations and make sure that bases are no longer pushed on Okinawa.

To that effect, there will be an emergency action today (May 4th) in front of Takashimaya Department Store in Kyoto from 5:30pm. Participants will get the chance to engage in dialogue about the bases, receive information, or help pass out information about the danger of U.S. bases and collect petition signatures. Here is a translation of the flyer for those who can not attend:

“We don’t need military bases!” rang the voices of over 90,000 people who participated in the Prefecture-wide rally on April 25th. Okinawan citizens raised their voices, demanding that Futenma, known as the world’s most dangerous military base, be returned to the Okinawan people, and that plans to move bases to other places in Okinawa such as Henoko or White Beach, be cancelled. According to a census, over 90% of Okinawa prefecture residents are opposed to the relocation of bases. 75% of US bases in Japan occupy Okinawa. We can not allow any more bases to be pushed on Okinawa and the lands which the bases occupy must be returned to Okinawa at once.

Ever since the Liberal-Democratic Party decided on a plan to relocate the Airfield at Futenma to Henoko 13 years ago, there have been movements in Okinawa in opposition. Why must yet another military base be built in Okinawa? While emphasizing how dangerous Futenma Air Field, they want to build another one in Okinawa? This irrational plan is what the LDP was trying to force onto Okinawa. Yet, despite pressure to accept the plan, the Okinawan people relentlessly struggled against it, and eventually the Henoko plan was retracted.

However, PM Hatoyama, while saying he will not build another base in Okinawa, is resurrecting the idea of constructing bases in Okinawa again after being denied by the U.S. government. These proposals are practically the same as the LDP’s.- to create a base off the shore from Henoko or at White Beach. This will end up destroying nature and building yet another dangerous base in Okinawa. This is absolutely ludicrous. “We are going to build a base even if Okinawans oppose it.” This seems to be the opinion of some members within the Democratic Party of Japan. We should not be listening to the U.S. government any longer. Isn’t it the voices of the Okinawan people who have been suffering under the pressure of the bases for 65 years since the end of the war whose voices need to be heard? We must join together and oppose the bases in Okinawa!