politics

Lower house urges gov't to ease Okinawa's base-hosting burden

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The protestors carried a banner calling for Okinawa to be a "peaceful island without military bases."

The very same people who dance around the camp fire singing Kumbaya too!

Okinawa will ALWAYS have bases, whether they are US Military, JSDF, or otherwise, and the folks who protest them are doing so altruistically and I can respect their opinion, but thankfully those who are more realistic run things, and make the decisions.

Okinawa is the southern gateway to Japan, and without any military presence would be open to all sorts of nasty things coming from the "west" of the prefecture.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

The people of Okinawa didn't have a voice then. Now they do and they're saying hosting 70% of US military should change too

Please answer this, how are you going to determine and differentiate between the "people of Okinawa" and the citizens of Japan?

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Thats just it !

Amamioshima used to be part of the Ryukyu kingdom until Japan separated it and changed the border to Yoron.

The people of Amami are still so sad and upset they became part of kagoshima prefecture and was separated from their ancestral lands.

I sincerely hope Japan isn't trying to start a crisis in Okinawa under the false pretenses of protecting the Okinawa people.

The Japanese government hasn't treated okinawans with equality ever .

In fact quite the opposite.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

The okinawans as Japan has named them feel strongly to identify themselves as not Japanese and also do not approve of the USA or JSDF military presence.

To be fair the Japanese government has imposed more hardship and loss of okinawans lives than the USA Military did.

And the Ryukyu kingdom was a tributary of China before Japan annexed it.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Do a survey that all okinawans can respond to ,asking if they want to be independent or a tributary of china or ruled by both Japan and the USA.

If they truly have a voice now all of a sudden then i propose you ask this question

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

And don't forget that the Ryukyu kingdom used to have its own navy and was friends with most of Asia before becoming annexed by Japan.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

It's funny how western countries don't want their allies' countries to split, but are the first to suggest other countries like China should split, even if it means cavorting with terrorist organizations. Can you imagine if China were to support Catalonia? The west has always used the divide and conquer technique. But America would never allow Ryukyu to regain independence. As for Taiwan, well, hypocrisy again.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Are there not a couple of Islands off Okinawa that are currently uninhabited I bet they could host a pretty good base there? Senkaku Islands...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Lower house urges gov't to ease Okinawa's base-hosting burden

This is a loaded title.

Okinawa benefits greatly from the bases there.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Can you imagine if China were to support Catalonia?

No I can’t, because supporting a break-away territory of Spain would give ammunition to Taiwan and Tibet. China not supporting self-determination isn’t because they care about the integrity of other countries. It’s purely self-serving.

If the people of Okinawa and the Ryukyus genuinely wanted to become an indecent nation, I’d support that. But I’ve seen little evidence that the majority of Okinawans support secession. Wanting a reduction in base burden isn’t the same as wanting to break away from Japan.

And independence comes with a whole host of their problems. If Okinawa and the ryukyus became independent, they would almost certainly see a reduction in the standard of living in the near to mid term.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

*INDEPENDENT nation.

Im sure the people of Okinawa are perfectly decent already.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

US need Artillery firing range,maybe locate them in Tokyo

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Kishida vows to make tangible progress ?

What does that mean ?

Taiwan is China !

Taiwan is a self governing province of China.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

The protestors carried a banner calling for Okinawa to be a "peaceful island without military bases.

When Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972, people thought, wishfully and very naively, that there would be no more U.S. bases on the island. But Okinawa's return to Japan was not in line with the people's wish. The bases and their function remained the same as ever before and, to our chagrin, the U.S. military could use these bases with impunity, even as nuclear-capable bases if needs be. So the return was only in name and its occupation by the U.S. forces went on unhinged.

Humbug! to use a Dickensian parting shot.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Amamioshima used to be part of the Ryukyu kingdom until Japan separated it and changed the border to Yoron.

And you conveniently forget that Yoron was a part of Okinawa until the US military created the new line following WWII.

All of Japan, for the most part, has been redistricted at one time or another.

And the Ryukyu kingdom was a tributary of China before Japan annexed it.

This is like commenting that Manhattan Island still belongs to the native American's It's all a part of history, and has nothing to do with today!

Remember, it's 2022 and not the 1500's!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

And you conveniently forget that Yoron was a part of Okinawa until the US military created the new line following WWII.

Part of the Cairo Declaration declared on 27 November 1943 said the Great Three Allies, i.e. the U.S., Great Britain and China, had "no thought of territorial expansion" and would strip Japan of all islands in the Pacific and all the territories Japan had stolen from China. The July 26, 1945 Potsdam Declaration went on further, and said: "the Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, and such minor islands as we determine." 

Thus, the island chain extending all the way from the Tokara islands to the Amami islands, to Okinawa islands, to Miyako islands and to Yeyama islands with the Senkakus included, were severed from Japan proper and placed under the direct U.S. administration.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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