Japanese rally against US air base

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/04/201042554723575134.html


Demonstrators have gathered at a rally in Okinawa, Japan, to protest against a US military air base on the island.

Sunday's rally, near Kadena air base, the largest US military facility in the Asia-Pacific region, is expected to include Hirokazu Nakaima, Okinawa's governor, and more than 30 town mayors.

Many on the island are unhappy with the heavy American military presence - a legacy of Japan's World War II defeat - complaining of noise, pollution and frictions with US soldiers.

-snip-

The US set up the Futenma air base in 1945 as it took the island in one of World War II's bloodiest battles.

It did not return Okinawa to Japan until 1972 and still operates more than 30 military facilities on the island, which is located near China, Taiwan and the Korean peninsula.

-snip-

The US, in turn, stations some 47,000 troops in the country, more than half of them on Okinawa.

Residents of the island have previously protested against the heavy US military presence, notably following a series of incidents allegedly involving US personnel, including the alleged rapes of a schoolgirl and a 19-year-old local woman.
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its ok by me to close the whole thing down for good.

nobody is going to attack Japan

nobody is going to attack any country.

just a bunch of men huffing and puffing because they have been paid off by our military industrial barons who need to stir up violence so they can keep on making huge bucks.

empire my foot.

N., S. Korea try to aggravate each other instead of trying for harmony.

they seem stuck in a rut.

The US presence on Okinawa is not needed for Japan's military purposes.

they wouldn't find themselves experiencing the collateral damage of occupation. :eyes:

NAS Atsugi. They closed us down as far as liberty went.

Good for them.