Okinawan Gov Takeshi Onaga Photo: AP
politics

Okinawa to file fresh lawsuit next month over U.S. base relocation

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Americas racism is what the US military represent in Okinawa. If they do not want us here, then it is time to leave.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@japan4life Today 11:20 am JST

You say the J-Govt. was weak back in those days, but they are strong now and yet they continue to allow the U.S. Military to do what they want on Okinawa and try to force things on the people of Okinawa that they would never try to force on Mainland Japan.

Here is the brutal fact of life. Japan is never strong against America. Losing the last war against them was a large part of it, but the biggest current factor is Japan's lack of defense sufficiency. A country that relies so much on another nation for its defense is in effect a protectorate, and especially on a matter of defense has relatively low speaking power.

A second factor is that the biggest differentiation is that the Japanese are not demanding changes on the mainland. Basically, Japan is in a strong defensive position if the US Armed Forces wants to unilaterally expand its presence in Japan. So say if America wants both Futenma and Nago, Japan is in a relatively good position to resist. But by the same token, Japan is in a disastrously weak position to demand the US kill off a base without compensation, and this is basically what's happening in Okinawa.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

gaihonjin,

The only cash going to Okinawa under the table is from the Japanese Govt. bribing people on Okinawa to support the Henoko Relocation Plan. And once again this is only about the relocation of MCAS Futenma to Henoko and has nothing to do with the U.S. losing its presence on Okinawa.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Has Okinawa spoken to the UN? Have they rebeled? Nothing will happen if they do not fight for their rights. Why not place the new base on one of the disputed islands? That will clear it from locals I would assume for the most part and let China know we are still here.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Last December, the top court ruled in favor of the central government, saying it was "illegal" for Onaga to revoke his predecessor's approval for landfill work required for the relocation.

It's somewhat good news that Onaga took legal action at long last, claiming that the central government's plan to crush underwater reefs is illegal unless it was permitted by the prefecture.

There's no guarantee, though, that the prefecture would win at court because the judicial and executive branches in Japan are all part of the same gang as evidenced by the Tanaka Supreme Court Judge's nullifying of the Date lower court judgement that ruled that the U.S. military presence in Japan violated the Japanese Constitution.

To our chagrin, the separation of powers doesn't exist in Japan at all as far as U.S. base issues are concerned.

Isn't there any other measure here except resorting to force?

One must understand that Okinawa's struggle is nothing but the nation's sublime endeavor to recover its genuine independence and sovereignty.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

The CCP is very active in Okinawa. The Chinese Communist Party would love nothing more than to have the US lose its presence in Okinawa. You can be sure that there is a lot of cash under the table going to Okinawa these days.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

NOBODY outside Okinawa cares about the plight of Okinawan's. Nobody... You have no political clout, not enough votes to care about and you are far away. Your plight comes on deaf ears forever

Odd that; I was aware of their plight for many years. People do care, whether you like it or not.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Onaga and Orange pant Load Trump are 2 peas from the same pod.

All only concerned with personal wealth. Onaga lost Universal Studios and major resort and hotel building in the Nago area. Delays as Onaga has done is more harmful and used as a cover to irritate the Okinawans and Onaga and his Pro-Chinese state ways is as bad as the The Dictator Duterte of the Philippines. He thinks he above the Law and goes out of his ways to ensure his perversion and condemnations of Japan and USA are to his own personal wealth and power. He welcomes Chinese Military and Diplomats as a cure to the USA problem and stated he would welcome Communist China if they could get rid of the US Military presence. He prefers China protect Okinawa from the USA. If he wants to be a dictator Authoritarian psychopath greedy self centered Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot type power fanatic freak why does he not lead Okinawa to separation from Japan and declare themselves the an Independent Nation and leave Japan and become a satellite of the PRC of China and help the PRC take Taiwan back forcefully and shut down the whole South China sea from the world. Trump is Putin's Puppet and Onaga is the PRC's puppet and ONAGA supports bringing in Chinese spies and advisers on how to deal with Japan mainland and to continually delay and irritate the US Military. I am waiting for Onaga making a Okinawa State visit to cut a deal with UN in the DPRK. How low will Onaga go.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Kazuaki Shimazaki,

Imagine being discarded by your own country and given to the U.S. Military to do what ever they wanted to do. Did Germany do that? Did Italy do that? The Japanese Govt. is ultimately responsible for the Battle of Okinawa and giving Okinawa to the U.S. Military and for making the secret deals before Reversion to allow the U.S. Military to continue to do as they please on Okinawa.

You say the J-Govt. was weak back in those days, but they are strong now and yet they continue to allow the U.S. Military to do what they want on Okinawa and try to force things on the people of Okinawa that they would never try to force on Mainland Japan. Have you ever been inside the U.S. Bases on Okinawa? There are more dependents than there are troops and more leisure facilities than there are training areas. The U.S. Military plays more rounds of golf and spends more time on their private beaches on Okinawa than they do training. Most of the land used by the bases on Okinawa are taken up by Military Housing Areas, Dependent Schools and leisure facilities. How about using some of that wasted space before you destroy the ocean with a permanent facility that once the landfill is done can not be reversed.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Hold a referendum in Okinawa whether they want to go independent from Japan or not.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

again, I can not state it more clearly: NOBODY outside Okinawa cares about the plight of Okinawan's. Nobody... You have no political clout, not enough votes to care about and you are far away. Your plight comes on deaf ears forever

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

@japan4life Today 07:51 am JST

Should they fire off your proposed lawsuits, they will fail. The Battle of Okinawa happened because the Americans chose to attack it. And the fact is that in 1952 and 1972, Japan had very little bargaining power - in the former case they had about as much sovereignty as we in Hong Kong have against China, and even in the latter case they didn't have strong cards that could "force" the Americans to do anything they didn't want to.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Yubaru: "Onaga made a promise to abide by the last ruling by the court. He lied. It's that simple."

He's incapable of keeping promises that don't promote his self-interests and line his own pockets, and he's proven that time and again. He's also proven that he is not only NOT a help to the people or the voice of okinawa, but a detriment. Meanwhile, the people at Futenma will cry about the bases not moving, and it's thanks to him.

But, he needs to keep his name in the spotlight and earn points from the people who want handouts and nothing but to sit and complain at the bases their familes moved to to live off.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

I spent a year based at Camp Schwab near Henoko in the mid 70's. It was then a sleepy little fishing village with around 20 bars serving local military personnel. North from there was 99% jungle and forested land that very few people ever went to. I don't know about today but if they put the base on the north west coastal area of what we lovingly called the Northern Training Area it shouldn't affect anyone's lives. The biggest problem with Okinawa is military personnel who have no respect for where they are.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Yubaru,

I will keep on bringing up what the Japanese Govt. has done to the people of Okinawa for as long as I live as will other people. How about telling the people of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Korea and China to put it to rest and see what they tell you.

Whatever the Japanese Govt. has done for Okinawa, they have taken from Okinawa two-fold. Almost all of what the Japanese Govt. does for Okinawa benefits the Mainland Japanese more than it does the people of Okinawa. Most of the Prime Contractors for GOJ projects on Okinawa are large Mainland Japanese Companies and a lot of the budget that the GOJ gives to Okinawa goes back to Mainland Japan. Local Okinawan companies are mostly sub-contractors fighting over the scraps left behind by the Mainland Japanese Companies.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

"but base construction is absolutely unacceptable," Okinawa Gov Takeshi Onaga said in a press conference."

Is keeping the Futenma base smack in the middle of town, schools, people acceptable?

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Okinawa should be sueing over Henoko and they should be sueing for all of the times that the Japanese Govt. has betrayed and sacrificed the people of Okinawa for the benefit of the Japanese Govt. The Japanese Govt. cares nothing for the people of Okinawa as proven by all of the times they have turned their back on them.

So, how many years will it take for you and others to put what happened back in the 50's, 60's and 70's to rest? Will you make the same arguments a 100 years from now?

Okinawa has benefited greatly and has made vast improvements to the infrastructure and economy with the assistance of the national government over the past two plus decades, thanks to the pragmatic governors, that didn't expect things to change over night, and didn't make demands that stagnated the economy either.

Okinawa is also to blame in a large part for the ongoing problems with the removal of MCAS Futenma, the politicians lined up to get their fingers in the pie too.

The Okinawan's are not blameless for their plight and it bugs me that people like you and others treat them with such condescending and arrogant attitudes.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

Other prefectures should help shoulder the burden. What is happening to Okinawa is unfair- plain and simple

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Okinawa should have sued the Japanese Govt. a long time ago for all of the pain and suffering that the Japanese Govt. has caused the people of Okinawa ever since they have been a part of Japan. The Battle of Okinawa from April 1 to June 22 1945 in which Okinawa was almost completely destroyed and over 149,000 Okinawans were killed which was about half of the population was the fault of the Japanese Govt. In 1952 the Japanese Govt. signed the Treaty of San Francisco and gave control of Okinawa to the U.S. Govt. which resulted in the people of Okinawa becoming citizens without a country, they were not Japanese or U.S. citizens and they had no protections under Japanese or U.S. Laws and USCAR, which was a subordinate organization of the forces of the United States, surveilled the Ryukyuan Government and could overrule all the decisions made by the Ryukyuan Government. Leading up to the Reversion of Okinawa back to Japan on May 15 1972, the Japanese Govt. made secret deals with the U.S. that allowed the U.S. to keep comple control of their bases including allowing the U.S. to store nucluear weapons on Okinawa if they needed to which is not allowed in Mainland Japan and also agreeing to a one for one agreement that says if an existing U.S. Facility is closed on Okinawa then a new one must be built in another location on Okinawa even golf courses.

Okinawa should be sueing over Henoko and they should be sueing for all of the times that the Japanese Govt. has betrayed and sacrificed the people of Okinawa for the benefit of the Japanese Govt. The Japanese Govt. cares nothing for the people of Okinawa as proven by all of the times they have turned their back on them.

3 ( +9 / -6 )

"The government is in great haste to go ahead with reclamation work without regard (for Okinawa) and achieve a fait accompli, but base construction is absolutely unacceptable," Okinawa Gov Takeshi Onaga said in a press conference.

Well, the central government did prevail at the Supreme Court on the previous lawsuit.

Local residents are also concerned that the landfill work will have a huge impact on the marine environment in the sea area which has coral reefs and is a habitat of the endangered dugong.

If this were true, concerns about the dugong would have been included in the previous suit.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

"Let it go, let it go..."

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

nobody outside Okinawa gives a rip

Technically that isn't true, there are quite a few sight-seeing tourists that drop by, pump their fists, take their "selfies" and go on their way too.

-6 ( +3 / -9 )

Okinawa to file fresh lawsuit

Good luck with that! Okinawa is less than 2% of Japan's population with no political or social sway whatsoever = nobody outside Okinawa gives a rip

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Onaga made a promise to abide by the last ruling by the court.

He lied. It's that simple.

1 ( +9 / -8 )

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