１６th World Congress IPPNW
Professor Emeritus University of the Ryukyus
The U.S. forces stationed in Japan are about 47,000 strong, of which the only branch of service not represented in any major way is the Army. The main forces are Marines stationed in Okinawa(Third Marine Expeditionary Force) and the ７th Fleet home-porting in Yokosuka and Sasebo. Outside the mainland USA, Japan is the only country that hosts U.S. Marines or a carrier-centered task force. The role of these forces is to operate on a global scale, covering the Indian Ocean through the West Pacific.(dated as 2000) There is no unit among them that is assigned for the defense of Japan. Herein lies the very characteristic of the U.S. bases in Japan. Although the three non-nuclear principles of not producing, not possessing and not allowing nuclear weapons to be brought in are a Japanese national principle, nuclear weapons have actually been brought into U.S. bases in Japan. Recently, some declassified documents of the U.S. forces in the Far East revealed a list of the U.S. bases in Japan that are used to stockpile nuclear weapons, in the 1950s. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, the U.S. changed its nuclear military posture, withdrawing tactical and theater nuclear weapons to the mainland U.S.A., though these weapons would be re-deployed anytime in the event of contingency. A secret agreement on the bringing-in of nuclear weapons, a part of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty entitled ”Record of Discussion” and initialed by the then U.S. Ambassador Mac Arthur and Japanese Foreign Minister Aiichiro Fujiyama on January 6, 1960, provides a set-up by which the U.S. can have its military planes and warships equipped with nuclear weapons visit Japanese airfields and seaports at any time it chooses.
of the Japanese Archipelage and cover about 3,000km from the north-east to the south-west. They were peaceful islands for a long time before Japanese Samurai,Satsuma came.The Ryukyu Islands could be compared to Hawaii before Captain Cook came Micronesia before Magellan came to the philippines and the South Pacific Islands before western settlers came.The central and southern part of the Ryukyu Islands is called Okinawa Prefecture. It is the last prefecture to become part of Japan. It has a total area of 2,267 square kilometers,occupying 0.6 per cent of Japan, and has a population of 1.3 million. The center of Okinawa Prefecture is Okinawa Main Island with an area of 1,202 square kilometers and a population of 1.1 million.In the final stage of the pacific war in 1945 a desperate battle between the Japanese and US forces was fought on these islands.About 150,000 inhabitants of Okinawa died in that battle. U.S.bases occupy 20% of the area of Okinawa main island.Thus,there are more than 9 municipalities in Okinawa, over 30% of whose area is used for U.S. bases. Despite the fact that there are 1.3 million people living in the prefecture, the center of city areas of Okinawa is occupied by U.S. bases, including Kadena and Futenma bases. Okinawa is a foothold base of the Third Marine Expeditionary Force, the only U.S. Marines that deployed and fully maintained abroad. Kadena Bases is the biggest air base in the Far East, and bases of the U.S. Navy and the Army are also stationed in Okinawa. Okinawa is indeed unique in the size of U.S. bases stationed there.
More than 12,000 U.S. soldiers were also killed. All households of Okinawa prefecture have victims of the war within their families. Like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Okinawa is one of the devastated areas in the war of aggression waged by Japanese militarism. Harsh hardships for Okinawa did not end. In 1952 when the San Francisco Treaty was concluded, the occupation of Japan came to an end. However, it was decided to continue the occupation of Okinawa. The U.S. planned to reinforce its Okinawa on a large scale and take land away from the islanders. It was just when the Okinawans were in the process of desperately recovering their lives from the ruins. They strongly resisted, but in vain. Threatened at bayonet point, they were expelled from their lands. Their farmlands were bulldozed and houses were burned down. In this way, their lands were taken away. When the administrative right of Okinawa reverted to Japan in 1972, expectation for the return of bases began to grow. However, the reduction of the bases has made very slow progress. On the contrary, the Japanese government has allowed the presence of U.S. bases, even going so far as to enact special law to enable them to remain in disregard of the landowner’s refusal to renew their land lease contracts.
142, of which 39 crashed and 25 dropped components (the result of a survey by Okinawa Prefecture dated as 2000). Among the 4953 crimes whose suspects were arrested, 523 were atrocious crimes such as robbery and rape, and 943 were cases of assault and other violence. In 1995, a schoolgirl was raped by U.S. Marines. Protest actions against the outrage were carried out throughout Okinawa. The Okinawa’s anger exploded in the face of continuing crimes by U.S. servicemen and the extraterritoriality given to U.S. Forces under the Status of Force Agreement(SOFA) that exempts U.S. servicemen from being taken into custody by Japanese police. The revision of SOFA is an earnest desire of the Okinawans. The assemblies of Okinawa prefecture and 53 municipalities adopted resolutions calling for the revision. Meanwhile, the destruction of the environment by the U.S. Forces is terrible. U.S. Forces and their exercises have caused mountain fires, the spill of red clay into the sea from training sites, the firing of depleted uranium bullets(DUBs) and irresponsible disposal of used DUBs, PCB(polychlorinated biphenyl) contamination, etc. These incidents represent extraordinary damage from U.S. bases in Okinawa which you have never seen on the Japanese mainland or in the U.S. itself. Even when such an accident occurs, the Japanese side is not allowed to go to the spot for investigation.
The citizens of Nago rejected hosting the new base in a referendum held in 1997. The area designated for the construction of the base is a habitat of dugongs(endangered species), which is one of 16 areas the World Wildlife Fund(WWF) designated as places needing most to be preserved in the world. The Duke of Edinburgh, president emeritus of the WWF, mentioned during his visit to Japan that top priority should be given to the conservation of the nature of the Southwest Islands, including Okinawa. The Okinawan people are raising their voices against the outrage that tries to forcibly build a new base in this area. Just recently, on Augest 13, a CH-53D helicopter for transportation from Fetenma Air Station crashed into the administrative building of Okinawa International University. The crash occurred after the aircraft’s tail roter appeared to fall to the ground in a near- by residential area.The aircraft then spiraled out of control before crashing and exploding in flames nearby. Although there were no civilian casualities, 25 university staff members were in the building at the time,and hundreds of students on campus. After the accident,about 100 US soldiers came into the spot of the accident in the university campus wihtout any permission and blockaded the spot and its surroundings. Any Japanese policemen and university staff members who were going to investigate the accident were totally rejected to enter by the US military Verification of the accident has been made only by the US military. Although the present Status of Force Agreement(SOFA) is disasvan tageous to Japanese side,it is clearly illegal that at the outside the US base,US military set an off limits around the accident spot and rejected the Japanese policemen and other investigators to enter.It is clearly invasion of nation’s sovereignty,We never admit what The US military has done in this case of accident.
After the U.S. offered to 〝return〝 Futenma base to Okinawa and at the same time demanded a substitute base within Okinawa in April, 1996, anti-base movement has been organized to withdraw the U.S. military and remove the U.S. base from Okinawa, and to stop constructing a state-of-the art base at Henoko, Nago City. Strong U.S. Marine corps were already deployed at Camp Schwab at the south-east part of Nago. The new base at Henoko, together with this Camp Schwab would hold almost all of the U.S. Marine Corps outside the main land of USA. It must really be a great threat not only to the North Asia, but to the east half of the globe. It would cause a big tension in and around the North-East Asia, We are also afraid that Japan including Okinawa might be a target of the other side in a new conflict of a war. Let us realize nuclear-and base- free North-East Asia and establish peace not by arms but by disarmament and our friendship.
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