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Copyright © 2024 CGTN. 京ICP备20000184号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466
A U.S. military base in the south of Okinawa, Japan, September 6, 2023. /CFP
Residents in Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa held protests on Wednesday to oppose the Japanese government's plan to convert Okinawa into a military fortress and called for a prefecture that is free of military bases.
Wednesday marked the 52nd anniversary of Okinawa's return to Japan in 1972 after 27 years of U.S. control.
At the time of its return, residents wanted U.S. facilities to be reduced to at least the same level as in other parts of the country, but this has yet to be realized, according to NHK.
More than half a century on, Okinawa Prefecture now hosts around 70 percent of all U.S. military bases in Japan.
What's more, the Japanese government opened a Ground Self-Defense Force base in the prefecture in March last year to strengthen the defense of the country's southwestern islands.
Residents held protests outside a U.S. military base in the prefecture, as well as on Ishigaki Island, where the Ground Self-Defense Force base is stationed, calling for no bases in Okinawa and a peaceful Okinawa. A local woman in her fifties told NHK that she wanted to do what she can so that children can inherit a region without war.
The U.S. military stationed in Japan is granted privileges like extraterritoriality, resulting in U.S. service members usually going unpunished even after committing a crime.
Safety accidents, aircraft noise and criminal incidents caused by the U.S. military have long been a bane of daily life for Okinawans.
(With input from agencies)