Japan Times:Thousands protest U.S. Futenma base in Okinawa

Thousands of protesters attend a rally at a baseball stadium in Naha, Okinawa
Prefecture, on Sunday. The event was called to oppose the planned relocation of U.S.
Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. | KYODO

May 17, 2015

Thousands of people rallied in Okinawa on Sunday to protest a controversial U.S. air base, as a two-decade-old bitter row over its relocation drags on.

Okinawa is home to more than half of the U.S. service personnel stationed in Japan under the bilateral defense alliance, a proportion many islanders say is too high.

U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma has become emblematic of that ill will since Washington announced plans to move it in 1996, hoping to ease tensions with the host community after the gang rape of a schoolgirl by American servicemen.

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「ジュゴンでトレイン！」Dugong de Train!(Ride on the train with Dugong!)

Polls show growing nationwide opposition to Henoko relocation

May 4, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo
Opinion polls recently conducted by national newspapers in Japan have shown that a growing segment of the population in mainland Japan is critical of the government’s attitude toward the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to the Henoko district of Nago. The proposal is already highly unpopular in Okinawa Prefecture which hosts the base.

In a poll conducted in mid-April by the Asahi Shimbun, 55% of respondents said they “do not approve of “the way the government under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been handling the relocation issue, compared with 25% who said they “approve of” it. The Mainichi Shimbun, which asked respondents whether they approve of the manner in which the government has been carrying out the project, showed 53% were “against” it, compared with 34% who were “for” it.

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「ジュゴンでトレイン！」Dugong de Train!(Ride on the train with Dugong!)

「ジュゴンでトレイン！」Dugong de Train!
(Ride on the train with Dugong!)

This event takes place on the Osaka loop line on June 17.
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/sdcc/e/b3d78b7837946354666e1e73979ea01b

We're calling on people in Japan (& all over the world) to act for saving the Dugongs. You can ride on the train, or stand in front of the station or anywhere you like, with the dugong mascot or poster (for example...
http://www.sdcc.jp/plan/2013postar5.pdf). 　

And take your picture with the mascot or the poster,and send us it.
It would be great if you could act on the 17th.

email info@sdcc.jp

US marine base is planning on the Dugong’s habitat Henoko,Okinawa.
A bowling investigation is going on against residents will.
Okinawan assembly for antibase is hehd on May 17.
Join us “Dugon de Train! “ for the future with Dugong.

No to Marine Base YES to Dugong Protection Area!

2014ジュゴンでトレイン！
Dugong de Train!2014


あなたの街でジュゴンでトレイン！2014
Dugong de Train in your Town

In speech to Congress, Abe lays out more assertive role for Japan

The Washington Post,April 29


Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addresses a joint meeting of Congress Wednesday on Capitol Hill. Vice President Biden, left, and House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) are seated behind Abe. (Gary Cameron/Reuters)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hailed a new chapter in Japan’s “alliance of hope” with the United States on Wednesday as he sketched out his vision for a more robust role for his nation in the security and prosperity of Asia.

In a historic address to a joint meeting of Congress, Abe paid respects to shared history 70 years after the end of World War II, but he emphasized that it was time for Japan to turn the page and modernize its relationship. Tokyo, he told U.S. lawmakers, is “resolved to take yet more responsibility for the peace and stability in the world.”

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