Okinawa marks 66th anniversary of WWII battle’s end
Jun. 24, 2011
Okinawa Prefecture on Thursday marked the 66th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa that killed more than 200,000 people, with Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima reiterating calls for easing U.S. base-hosting burdens while Prime Minister Naoto Kan promised his ''utmost'' to do so.
But Kan clarified that it is difficult to move the contentious Futenma Air Station of the U.S. Marine Corps out of the prefecture as sought specifically by the governor.
''I deeply regret the delay in reducing burdens for Okinawa,'' Kan said at a memorial ceremony in Itoman, Okinawa, where about 5,000 people observed a moment of silence. ''I will do my utmost to relieve the burdens and eliminate dangers with regard to U.S. bases in Okinawa.''
Delivering a message before Kan, who also promised new measures to spur development in the southwestern Japan prefecture, Nakaima demanded that Tokyo and Washington reduce U.S. bases in Okinawa and ''relocate the dangerous Futenma Air Station outside the prefecture with no further delay.''
''I strongly urge the Japanese and U.S. governments to conduct a sweeping revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement,'' Nakaima also said in the annual peace message at the ceremony, referring to a bilateral pact which governs the operations of the U.S. military in Japan and grants virtual extraterritorial rights to its personnel.
Okinawa has long clamored for reducing the heavy U.S. military presence, saying they have been suffering from aircraft and other noise from the bases as well as crimes involving U.S. servicemen.
Much to Okinawa's frustration, however, Tokyo and Washington reaffirmed at ministerial security talks Tuesday to abide by a stalled plan to move Futenma from the populated city of Ginowan to a coastal area in Nago, also in Okinawa.
Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Kan said that while he ''fully understands'' Okinawa's wishes for the base to be relocated outside of the prefecture or even overseas, the government's conclusion is that such a move would be difficult.
''We must work to eliminate the dangers of the Futenma Air Station and avoid its indefinite use,'' Kan said, in line with agreements reached in Tuesday's talks.
Futenma has long been symbolic of the risks posed by U.S. bases in Okinawa, especially after a Marine Corps helicopter crashed into a university compound there in 2004.
After almost 40 years since its return to Japan in 1972 following postwar U.S. occupation, the small island prefecture still hosts about 75 percent of all U.S. military facilities in Japan in terms of land area.
In his speech, Nakaima also pledged Okinawa's efforts to help those suffering from the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern and some eastern Japan areas.
Kan attended the ceremony, held in the Peace Memorial Park in the city of Itoman, for the second straight year as prime minister.
This year, the names of 205 people were newly added to the list of those who perished in the war, bringing the total to 241,132.
Some 94,000 civilians, about a quarter of the residents in the prefecture, died in the three-month battle between Japanese and U.S. troops in 1945. Okinawa was the only inhabited part of Japan where ground fighting took place during World War II.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on June 23, 2011)
But Kan clarified that it is difficult to move the contentious Futenma Air Station of the U.S. Marine Corps out of the prefecture as sought specifically by the governor.
''I deeply regret the delay in reducing burdens for Okinawa,'' Kan said at a memorial ceremony in Itoman, Okinawa, where about 5,000 people observed a moment of silence. ''I will do my utmost to relieve the burdens and eliminate dangers with regard to U.S. bases in Okinawa.''
Delivering a message before Kan, who also promised new measures to spur development in the southwestern Japan prefecture, Nakaima demanded that Tokyo and Washington reduce U.S. bases in Okinawa and ''relocate the dangerous Futenma Air Station outside the prefecture with no further delay.''
''I strongly urge the Japanese and U.S. governments to conduct a sweeping revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement,'' Nakaima also said in the annual peace message at the ceremony, referring to a bilateral pact which governs the operations of the U.S. military in Japan and grants virtual extraterritorial rights to its personnel.
Okinawa has long clamored for reducing the heavy U.S. military presence, saying they have been suffering from aircraft and other noise from the bases as well as crimes involving U.S. servicemen.
Much to Okinawa's frustration, however, Tokyo and Washington reaffirmed at ministerial security talks Tuesday to abide by a stalled plan to move Futenma from the populated city of Ginowan to a coastal area in Nago, also in Okinawa.
Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Kan said that while he ''fully understands'' Okinawa's wishes for the base to be relocated outside of the prefecture or even overseas, the government's conclusion is that such a move would be difficult.
''We must work to eliminate the dangers of the Futenma Air Station and avoid its indefinite use,'' Kan said, in line with agreements reached in Tuesday's talks.
Futenma has long been symbolic of the risks posed by U.S. bases in Okinawa, especially after a Marine Corps helicopter crashed into a university compound there in 2004.
After almost 40 years since its return to Japan in 1972 following postwar U.S. occupation, the small island prefecture still hosts about 75 percent of all U.S. military facilities in Japan in terms of land area.
In his speech, Nakaima also pledged Okinawa's efforts to help those suffering from the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern and some eastern Japan areas.
Kan attended the ceremony, held in the Peace Memorial Park in the city of Itoman, for the second straight year as prime minister.
This year, the names of 205 people were newly added to the list of those who perished in the war, bringing the total to 241,132.
Some 94,000 civilians, about a quarter of the residents in the prefecture, died in the three-month battle between Japanese and U.S. troops in 1945. Okinawa was the only inhabited part of Japan where ground fighting took place during World War II.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on June 23, 2011)
