The Governor of Okinawa is Dead, but His Will Remains
Nearly 70,000 people gathered in Onoyama Park, Naha today to not only rally against the construction of a new US military airstrip in Henoko Bay, but to also pay respects to the late governor of Okinawa, Takeshi Onaga.
Governor Onaga, 67, passed away this last Wednesday, August 8th, after battling pancreatic cancer. A critic of the US military presence in Okinawa, Mr. Onaga served as a key leader of the anti-base movement in the Ryukyus which has continued to protest against American bases in Okinawa since the end of the Second World War. During his time as governor he pressured the Japanese national government and the US military to stop the construction of a new base at Henoko Bay in Okinawa by most recently retracting an approval to begin landfill work in the bay.
The rally today in Naha was originally against the possible continuation of US military construction of the Henoko base despite Mr. Onaga’s political push-back; however, the recent death of the governor changed the event into something which memorialized the Okinawan leader’s final wishes. Speakers at the rally talked about Mr. Onaga’s will to remove Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and not allow the US military, even with support of the Japanese national government, to construct the new base at Henoko Bay. While tears and heavy rain dominated the event, the will of governor Onaga continues through the many thousands of people at the rally who, as pictured above, held up signs saying ‘NO!’ to the construction of American base at Henoko Bay.
The new base being built at Henoko Bay is part of an agreement between the United States of America and Japan over relocating the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. Currently located dead center in Ginowan City, as pictured below, the base at Futenma has been marred with controversy because of the noise pollution its aircrafts cause and the local violence associated with American servicemen. The beating and rape of a 12 year old Okinawan girl by two United States marines and one navy seaman in 1995 remains a particularly horrific event which strained the relationship between the US military and the Okinawan people. The crashing of US military-owned aerial vehicles in the last few years have also recently emboldened the anti-base movement in Okinawa.
While visiting Futenma earlier this week, I counted four US owned MV-22 Osprey, one osprey pictured below, take off and land at the base all within 30 minutes.
Landfill work in Henoko Bay, pictured below, may still begin as soon as the coming week despite the late governor’s actions to try and stop its construction. The presence of American bases across Okinawa continues, but Governor Onaga’s recent death does not spell the end for the anti-base struggle here by any means.
All photos are owned by me (Teodor Jaich).
