Okinawans resist new US base

Residents of Nago City on the Japanese island of Okinawa are 
carrying out daily sit-ins to defend their beautiful sea with its 
rich life against the construction of a new US military base 
being imposed on them. They are opposing the drilling involved in 
a geological survey of the seabed as the first step in the 
construction of the new US on-sea base. The construction of the 
base is being supported by the Japanese government.

The US call for a new base followed the April 1999 announcement 
by the Japanese and US governments that the US Futenma Air 
Station on Okinawa would be completely returned to Japan.

The return, however, was on the condition that Japan offer the US 
forces a substitute facility. The Japanese government decided in 
December 1999 on the construction of a substitute facility in the 
sea off Okinawa's main island.

The sea has a lot of coral reefs and is known to be the feeding 
grounds of the endangered sea mammal dugongs.

In order to construct a new base the government is planning to 
bore 63 holes in the reefs within the construction site.

The drilling was to start on April 19, the day local residents 
began their sit-in. Their actions prevented the start of the 
drilling.

Officials have explained that the drilling survey they are trying 
to conduct is just a "preliminary", but residents, supported by 
an increasing number of people in and outside of Okinawa, know 
that the survey is the first step in the process of constructing 
the base.

The "sit-in" tent is filled with excitement. The participants are 
holding various activities, including study meetings, yoga 
workshops, boat tours, and short plays.

A national issue

On May 8, 90-year-old Nak-amura Fumiko from Naha City 
participated in the sit-in. She is known as the leader of the 
"One-Foot Film Movement" to buy back and preserve US films of the 
Okinawa ground war.

She said, "I was born in a town adjacent to Nago City and grew up 
in the kindly fruits of nature there. When I was a child, my 
mother scolded me for taking small clams. Now her teaching "Don't 
kill out living things" is more important than ever. The 
government officials are going to destroy the nature and build a 
military base to train murderers. We must refuse to allow such a 
base to be built."

Japanese Communist Par-ty member of the House of Representatives 
Akamine Seiken said, "The construction of a new base in the 
district will further enhance the capabilities of the US military 
bases in Okinawa as a major stepping-stone for US military 
intervention in or invasion of other countries. Having 
experienced the tragic Okinawa battle, Okinawans wish for peace. 
We'll never allow the construction of the new base. It's a fight 
that flows together with the world current moving towards peace."