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Protesters staged a silent rally on May 22 in front of Camp Zukeran in Okinawa Prefecture to mourn the death of a 20-year-old local woman who was found slain last week.
About 2,000 protesters, mostly women, walked along the fences of the facility that houses the command center for U.S. Forces in Okinawa to show their anger and grief over the woman’s death.
Kenneth Franklin Shinzato, a 32-year-old civilian worker at U.S. Kadena Air Base, was arrested on suspicion of abandoning the woman's body. According to police sources, the suspect allegedly admitted to raping the victim, stabbing her to death and abandoning her body in a wooded area in Onna.
The silent protest was organized by Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence, which was established after the rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. service members in 1995.
The group called on participants to wear white or black clothes to underscore their grief. The protesters directed banners and placards carrying messages toward Camp Zukeran, also known as Camp Foster, which straddles four municipalities, including the village of Kita-Nakagusuku.
Saki Yonaha, a 31-year-old children’s nurse from the village of Yomitan, attended the rally carrying white chrysanthemums in her hands.
“I wonder how terrifying it was for the victim,” Yonaha said. “I hope her soul rests in peace.”
Sunao Kadekaru, a teacher from Ginowan, said he is opposed to the presence of U.S. military bases in the prefecture.
“I want all the bases to be eliminated from Okinawa,” the 55-year-old said.
(THE ASAHI SHIMBUN)
