The Japanese island of Okinawa celebrated its 50th anniversary on Sunday ending the US invasion and its return to Japan with festivals and celebrations amid growing concerns about its growing China.Okinawa, a series of tropical islands in the southwest of Japan, much closer to Taiwan than Tokyo, suffered heavy casualties during World War II. Two months of bloody wars between US and Japanese forces left a third of its population dead. Almost 30 years of US rule followed.
On May 15, 1972, the islands were finally relocated to Japan in what seemed to be a dramatic step forward from a tragic military legacy. But today they still hold most of the US military bases in Japan, an alliance that has provided jobs but also provided troubles with crime and war risks.Now, as China grows steadily in the Pacific region and tensions grow closer to Taiwan, with Beijing taking it as a rebel province, the Okinawans are worried they may never again be in the forefront – especially after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“These are small islands,” said a protester on the island of Miyako, who was visiting a new military base in Japan, but declined to give his name.
PM Fumiotake part in the dedication ceremony
“Building a military base will not protect them but will instead make them victims of attack.”Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will take part in the dedication ceremony in Okinawa, while Governor Naruhito will comment on a videolink from Tokyo.
The people of Okinawa have long been reluctant to carry the heavy burden of seizing foundations, and this issue has sometimes caused great protests. Of the 812 Okinawans who voted for public broadcaster NHK in March, 56% said they strongly opposed US policies; only a quarter of the 1,115 people outside the region say the same thing.
Tensions are likely to intensify given that representatives of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) say they want to commit to spending more defensive money, including missiles that can hit target on foreign ground – arrows that could be fired at Okinawa. The country is reviewing its security strategy this year.The current governor of Okinawa, Denny Tamaki, would like to reduce the base of the foot, but plans to remove some of the bases from Okinawa, which includes sending some Marines to Guam, which is moving slowly.
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