Anger directed at Japan mainland at anti-U.S. base rally in Okinawa

Strong anger poured out against Japan’s mainland as well as the Japanese and U.S. governments at a massive rally held here on June 19 to protest the slaying of a local woman.

Ai Tamaki, a 21-year-old co-representative of the event, started her speech by expressing her deep compassion toward the 20-year-old victim.

“Thinking about you, many people in this prefecture wept, got angry, felt sadness and held feelings of depression that cannot be described with words,” she said on the stage at the Ounoyama athletic field in Naha.

The crowd, which organizers estimated at 65,000 people, grew quiet. An American civilian worker at a U.S. military base, who formerly was a U.S. Marine, has been charged in connection with the slaying in late April.

“I have had a conflicted feeling in my mind every day, thinking that if I speak (on this stage), I could hurt you or your loved ones because I am not your acquaintance,” Tamaki said. “But I don’t want to remain mum.”

Tamaki, a student of a university in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, resides in the city of Uruma, where the victim was also living before she was killed.

Shocked by the killing, she has been in anguish, thinking, “The victim could have been me or one of my friends.”

Tamaki is a member of SEALDs Ryukyu, a young people’s group that is engaged in an opposition campaign against the new national security legislation. Ryukyu means Okinawa.

Tamaki repeatedly thought about what she should convey to participants through her speech. The conclusion she reached was anger against people in Japan’s mainland, who seem to be ignoring the plight of Okinawans, who are bearing the brunt of the U.S. military presence in the country.

“Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and people living in Japan’s mainland. Who is the second perpetrator of this (killing)? It is you. I want you to face (the issues of) Okinawa fully,” Tamaki said.

Whenever people affiliated with the U.S. military cause an incident, the central government repeatedly reassures residents that it will take measures to prevent a recurrence. However, Tamaki said those measures were “worn-out proposals.”

She also asked U.S. President Barack Obama to, “Please liberate Japan.”

The massive rally was organized by a group consisting of political parties including the Social Democratic Party and the Japanese Communist Party and representatives of companies, which all support Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga.

Participants offered a silent prayer to mourn the slain woman. Then, a message from the victim’s father was read.

“Many incidents and accidents have been caused by U.S. military members and civilian workers," the message said. "In such a situation, my daughter also became a victim. To prevent the next victim, I call for removal of all U.S. military bases and oppose the construction of a new U.S. military base in the Henoko district (of Nago). I think that it will be possible (to realize these goals) if all the people in Okinawa Prefecture are united.”

At the end, participants adopted a resolution demanding the withdrawal of U.S. Marines from Okinawa; closure and removal of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma without relocation within Okinawa Prefecture; an apology and compensation to the bereaved family of the slain woman; and drastic revisions to the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement.

The Liberal Democratic Party, which is an opposition party in the Okinawa prefectural assembly, and Komeito, which takes a “neutral" position, did not participate in the rally, saying that preparations were unilaterally made for staging the event and adopting the resolution.

All major parties took part in a 1995 rally that was held in response to the kidnapping and rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. service members. About 85,000 people took part in the event, according to the organizer.

The June 19 event marked the largest protest in the prefecture to an incident or accident caused by U.S. military-related people since the one in 1995.

At the June 19 rally, Onaga said in his speech, “(At the time of the 1995 rally,) we vowed that we would never let (a similar tragedy) happen again. But we were not able to change the political structure. As (Okinawa) governor, it is extremely regrettable. I am very sorry for that.”

(THE ASAHI SHIMBUN)