POLITICS-JAPAN: No U.S. Bases in Our Backyard, Villagers Say

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

NAHA, Japan, Aug 2 2000 (IPS) - The villagers of Henoko, a tiny fishing paradise surrounded by clear blue coral reefs and beside the U.S. Camp Schwab, are now at the forefront of Okinawa’s long, bitter battle against the American military.

The 1,400 residents of Henoko in northern Okinawa were propelled into action three years ago, when the Japanese and U.S. governments agreed to build an offshore heliport as a U.S. base on the sea off it.

The heliport, which will be the world’s first such offshore project, is supposed to replace the Futenma Air Station of the U.S. Marine Corps, which residents want moved out of central Okinawa.

The transfer plan was decided by Tokyo and Washington to appease Okinawans.

But the anti-base feeling is such that nobody elsewhere in Okinawa is keen on hosting any new military facilities. Many in Henoko say they do not want the heliport developed in their area.

Thus, anti-base proponents have built a hut on the sandy beach of Henoko to protest the planned relocation of the U.S. facility.

Villagers and activists take turns in the hut to keep watch over the planned construction of the heliport, and vow not to end their vigil until the government gives up its plans.

Sue Nakama, 82, is a very willing supporter and says she is proud to take her turn in sitting in the hut.

Takuma Higashionna, 37, says he quit his job at a construction company two years ago after his boss asked him to support the heliport scheme.

This action by Henoko’s residents show the depth of distrust against the bases, especially in recent years when crimes by U.S. servicemen have been reported.

More than 80,000 Okinawans, or more than three-quarters of the prefecture’s population, joined protest rallies against the U.S. bases after the 1995 rape of a schoolgirl by 3 U.S. marines.

Despite calls for patience and the promise of more money by politicians in Tokyo, protests against the U.S. bases after the end of the Cold War have grown louder, analysts say.

The calls are especially loud in Okinawa, which alone hosts 27,000 of the 48,000 American troops based in Japan.

“The U.S. bases in Okinawa were considered important for the security of Japan during the Cold War. But now, with the situation different, many people are questioning the reason of why the bases have to stay,” says professor Masaharu Ikemiya of the University of the Ryukyus.

U.S. President Bill Clinton calls the bases in Okinawa “the keystone of military strategy”, and says they have played a strategic role as launching pads for American troops fighting in Asia — the Korean War, later the Vietnam War, and more recently, the 1990 Gulf War.

But the bases have never been welcome in Okinawa.

Despite its dependence on the U.S. presence, which contributes 1.4 billion U.S. dollars in direct spending, the consensus among Okinawans is that the facilities should go. Surveys show that more than 70 percent of residents want them out.

Amid public anger over crimes committed by U.S. marines, the Special Action Committee on Okinawa agreed in November 1996 to reduce the burden on the prefecture. Seventy-five percent of land in Japan allocated for U.S. bases is found in Okinawa, home to 39 U.S. military facilities.

More recently, environmentalists have also joined the Henoko opposition movement because the planned relocation of the base and heliport construction conservation concerns, such as the destruction of the habitat of the dugong, a marine animal native to Okinawa.

The dugong, banned from being hunted in Japan, feed on a special sea grass, that thrive 32 square miles to the north and south of Henoko, activists say.

The estimated population of the dugong is some 100,000, with 80,000 of them in Australia.

The heliport will wipe out the marine animals because the its operations will pollute the water and kill the sea grass, points out Taro Hosokawa of the Dugong Network Okinawa.

Likewise, Hosokawa adds, the constant roar of construction will frighten the timid dugong away.

“Even if we are poor, we will be healthy if we protect this village from the destruction that will be caused by the heliport,” said Masahiro Tsuchida of the same group.

Kinjo of the Council to Block the Heliport Construction says the anti-base movement stems from residents’ desire for peace. He points to Okinawa’s proud history, which explains the deep sense of loss that affects most people given the relocation plans.

Okinawa was a separate and affluent kingdom trading with China and Japan until it was annexed by the Meiji government in Japan officially 200 years ago.

Joining the mainland only brought war and misery, according to Kinjo. Indeed, Okinawa’s peace memorial on the southern end of the island is a remembrance of the war with U.S. marines at the end of World War II. The battles left 100,000 locals, or one-third of the population, dead.

Okinawans also feel the mainland does not appreciate their plight. Okinawans won independence from the U.S. only in 1972, almost 30 years after the rest of Japan.

But Okinawa’s economic dependence on the mainland, which pours in around 3 billion dollars annually to help the local economy for as long as it hosts the U.S. bases, remains a divisive issue in the anti-base movement.

In Henoko itself, the lure of 100 billion yen (9.8 billion dollars) from the central government to the village on condition the mayor accepts the new heliport, has stirred ill feelings among village families that were once-tightly knit. This has disrupted the time-old tradition of community harmony.

For the first time, some families refused to one another during a recent sports festival, an annual event usually looked forward to in the village, says Katsuo Shimabukuro, a farmer who supports the new base.

He explains that economic development is a priority for Henoko, which supports itself mainly through its dealings with the U.S. bases such as land leases, and running shops and restaurants that have the American marines as patrons.

Younger Okinawans, while deploring crimes committed by U.S. marines, say they are not angry against U.S. bases and that it will be “boring” without them.

“We have friends among the marines and it is fun to speak English and eat pizza,” says 19-year-old Mari, who works in a supermarket.