Candidate Opposed to US Bases Wins Landslide Victory for Okinawa Governor

[Judi Lynn]

Published on Monday, November 17, 2014

by Common Dreams

Candidate Opposed to US Bases Wins Landslide Victory for Okinawa Governor

'The new military base will not be built,' declared Takeshi Onaga following his victory.

by Sarah Lazare, staff writer


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Protesters hold a sign at a mass anti-U.S. base rally in Ginowan, Okinawa on November 8, 2009. (Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon)
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Okinawa voters on Sunday handed an overwhelming victory to a gubernatorial candidate opposed to U.S. military bases, dealing another blow to plans by the U.S. government and Pentagon to construct a new military facility on the Japanese island.

Takeshi Onaga, who is the former mayor of the Okinawan capital of Naha, was declared winner on Sunday evening with a 100,000 vote lead, in an election in which 360,000 voted. Onaga ran on the pledge to oppose new U.S. military bases on the island, including the controversial Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

For nearly 20 years, the U.S. has sought to transfer the Okinawa base from the city of Ginowan to the Henoko district of Nago, further to the north. This plan has been met with protests by residents, who oppose the hazards of proximity to the U.S. military presence, including sexual assaults by service members, violence, and the environmental threat to the area's ecosystems.

"The new military base will not be built," Onaga told media outlets following his victory. "I will convey the will of the Okinawan people to the governments of Japan and the United States."

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/11/17/candidate-opposed-us-bases-wins-landslide-victory-okinawa-governor

[MADem]

1. They want to put all the USMC up at the top of the island.

This is because when they misbehave, they do Very Bad Things. Like kill cab drivers. Of course, the people who live up at the top of the island take issue with this--it's rather pastoral up there and they feel they're doing more than their share with the groups coming in and out every six months to a year.

What this means is that Futenma--which is right on the main drag between Kadena and Naha, will stay put. For now. Anyway.... which will piss off the people in the congested (high land value) area who were hoping to have their land returned to them if the base went away. They did move some assets to the mainland (Iwakuni) from Futenma, but there's still plenty there.

Make no mistake, the Okinawans have limited control over their destiny. Their future has always been in the hands of Tokyo since USA gave the island back to Japan.