US base in Okinawa violates local people's rights(governor)

Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga told press here on Tuesday that he strongly opposed Japanese-US plans to build another military base in the island's Oura Bay in Henoko because of the burden it presented for the local population.

Part of a dated agreement between Tokyo and Washington, the plan is to relocate the Futenma airbase situated in the middle of the city of Ginowan to the more secluded area of Henoko to the North.

"Okinawa is a very small place, it is challenging to discuss with both Japanese and US governments when our rights of self-determination are not respected," he said, adding that he would like the world to know about this issue given the protracted neglect of the population's human rights.

Okinawa, formally an independent state known as the Ryukyu Kingdom until its annexation by the Japanese government in 1879, is a Japanese prefecture located between China and Japan.

After the US occupation at the end of the Second World War, which saw the island remain under US jurisdiction until 1972 upon which date it was returned to Japan, military bases were constructed on the island after land had been unlawfully seized from local citizens by US forces.

Though constituting only 0.6 percent of Japan's total landmass, a concept note prepared by various NGOs for a human rights side event stated that Okinawa currently hosts 74 percent of US military facilities in Japan.

It also highlighted that in 2006, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance Doudou Diene came to the conclusion that this presence results from discriminatory policies violating international law by both Japan and the United States.

Despite strong rejection voiced by the Okinawan people, both US and Japanese governments are carrying through plans to construct the new military base in Oura Bay, which will involve dumping 2,100 cubic metres of earth into a highly biodiverse region home to the endangered dugongs.

"There is also the environmental issue, the bay is ranked number one for its beauty, what is going to happen if you fill that area?" asked Onaga, who is the first Japanese Governor to address the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), which is currently holding its 30th session.

Onaga was elected last year to stop the construction at Henoko, and hoped that his intervention in the UN would give confidence and pride to the Okinawan people while also bringing the issue to the attention of other governors in Japan.
  Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
  23/9/15
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