Ryukyu Shimpo:Historical Highlights of Okinawa’s Hardships, Debating Base Issues at UN Symposium

September 22, 2015 Ryukyu Shimpo Ryota Shimabukuro reports from Geneva

On the morning of September 21, the symposium Militarization and Human Rights Violations in Okinawa opened at the United Nations European Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Governor Onaga spoke first at the symposium for about 20 minutes, mentioning that Okinawa was once an independent nation before its annexation by Japan. Now, after the Battle of Okinawa that claimed 200,000 victims, looking back on the 70-year span of an overwhelming base burden on Okinawa, he claims that Okinawan people’s freedom, equality, human rights, democracy, and right of self-determination are being disregarded.

The symposium was jointly hosted by Shimin Gaiko Centre (Citizens’ Diplomatic Centre for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples), the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), and the Shima Gurumi Association, among others. The issues of carrying out construction of the new base in Henoko were discussed through the lens of human rights, the environment, and other such aspects.

Co-representative of Citizens’ Network for Biodiversity in Okinawa, Hideki Yoshikawa, said that the process of conducting environmental impact assessments of the new base construction has been harshly criticized by experts as “the worst in Japan’s history,” among other such critiques. He said he wishes for scientists and experts around the world to investigate the impact that new base construction will have on the people and environment of Okinawa.

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For the Sake of Okinawa Dugongs: The Kasuya-Abe Document

from Okinawa Outreach blog

For the Sake of Okinawa Dugongs: The Kasuya-Abe Document now available on the internet

We at Okinawa Outreach are excited to present a document “Building a Futenma Air Station Replacement Facility at Cape Henoko and Its Impacts on Japan’s Dugong Population” written by Dr. Toshio Kasuya and Dr. Mariko Abe (Click here to see the document). Dr. Kasuya is one of the foremost experts on marine mammals in Japan and Dr. Abe is a leading expert on coral biology. Both of them have conducted research in the area of Henoko and Oura Bay.


Click here to see the whole document

The Kayusa-Abe document is a scientific rebuttal against the Okinawa Defense Bureau’s assessment of impacts on the endangered marine mammal dugong of the construction and operations of a US military base in Henoko and Oura Bay in Okinawa.

NHK WORLD News:Onaga tells UN Okinawa's rights are neglected

The governor of Okinawa has called for international support for his opposition to a plan to relocate a US military base within the prefecture.

Governor Takeshi Onaga addressed a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.

Onaga noted that Okinawa accounts for only 0.6 percent of Japan's total land area, but hosts 73.8 percent of its US military facilities.

He said US military bases have been the cause of incidents, accidents and environmental problems in the prefecture for 70 years since World War Two ended.

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The Japan Times:Onaga’s challenge on Henoko

photo Ryukyushimpo/ Onaga arrived at Geneva International Airport in Switzerland

Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga has set in motion the procedure for revoking permission granted by his predecessor for landfill work to build the replacement facility for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma ― a move that threatens to lead to an all-out legal battle between the prefecture and the national government. The Abe administration, which is pushing for construction of the new facility in the Henoko district off Nago in northern Okinawa, should contemplate why the governor chose this path even though his prospects in the coming legal scrap are far from certain.

The expected move, which took place last Monday, came two days after nearly a month of talks between the prefecture and the national government ― during which the work at the Henoko site was suspended ― broke down. The permission given in 2013 by then-Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima is necessary for the main land-reclamation work, which the national government hopes to start as early as next month. Onaga was elected last November on his promise of stopping the Henoko project.

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The Japan Times:Protesters crowd Diet as security bills face passage

Sep 18, 2015

Protesters holding placards walk toward the Diet on Friday evening as the passage of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s contested security bills loomed. | KYODO

Tens of thousands of citizens opposed to the Abe administration’s security bills continued to protest at the Diet on Friday as opposition lawmakers made last-minute efforts to prevent the enactment of laws that would allow Japanese troops to fight overseas for the first time since the war.

With the police on heightened alert, more than 40,000 people angered by the way the Upper House special committee approved the bills the previous day surrounded the Diet building, organizers said.

Similar rallies were also held elsewhere across the nation, including in Sapporo, Nagoya and Osaka.

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