By CGTN's Jack Barton
Angry protests and scuffles have erupted in Japan at a US military base on Okinawa. Tokyo has resumed work to relocate the base, farther north on the island, but many Japanese want it off the island altogether.
In addition to protesters, even the local government is fighting Tokyo’s plans to relocate a US base. But they have been overruled by Japan’s Supreme Court.
It is believed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe traveled to Washington with an assurance for President Trump the new base will go ahead.
Protesters against US bases shout with their placards while blocking construction cars and US marines from getting inside the US Marine Base in Camp Schwab, protesting against the construction of the new US Marine base in Henoko, Nago, Okinawa prefecture, Japan on February 9, 2017. /CFP Photo
Most locals want the base scrapped as well as the other 32 US military sites on Okinawa and surrounding islands.
Almost three-quarters of all US military personnel deployed to Japan are stationed on Okinawa and occupy more than 10 percent of the island.
The protests permeate every level of society. Students from the Ginowan City Ladies Association are writing letters to the government to close the bases.
One uncomfortable reality is that the US military is a major source of income for the island and when bases shift, towns wither.
