Yesterday, I returned from Okinawa on a study program about base issues there, particularly the current one about closing Futenma US Air Force Base and building a new one on the other side of the island in Henoko. The goal of the study tour was to witness firsthand and listen to local community residents about what is happening in Okinawa around the issue of US bases. The program viewed US military installations in Ginowan City, met public and private officials in Ginowan and Henoko cities, listened to local testimonies, and visited the bay of Henoko that is scheduled for destruction for base construction.
In future blogs, I will go into more detail about each of the issues surrounding bases in Okinawa and for now will provide a quick summary of our findings from local citizens of the situation and the problems they face in resisting plans to build more US bases in their communities and neighborhoods. First, we learned through personal stories and testimonials how local Okinawans carry a heavy and unfair burden for hosting bases of the world's largest and most powerful military. Local Okinawans must fight to get their voices and concerns heard by not only the US military and government but also their own government in Tokyo and mainland Japanese citizens who have no connections to or awareness about living with military bases next door—the fighter planes flying day and night overhead or the confiscation of precious agricultural farmland and abundant beach and sea waters that have sustained generations of families to the national government to lend to the US for base-hosting. Often both the US and Japanese governments do not listen to and ignore local Okinawan citizens.
The local citizens of Okinawa are also fighting to reclaim and protect their land and communities from further development of military installations out of concerns for local safety and environmental preservation. Military bases bring a lot of noise and air pollution and risks from training exercise accidents. For example, Futenma Air Force Base sits in the middle of a large city with schools, libraries, and other centers where local residents meet, and these places have been sites of numerous flight accidents originating from the base—flights that occur every five minutes on days of intense training exercises. These bases damage the local environment too. Oura Bay, where construction of a new base is slated, is home to coral reefs and marine life that is not found anywhere else in the world, and base construction would disrupt and destroy much of this unique sea life.
The problem of hosting bases is exacerbated for Okinawans with local history with war and conquest. The island has had three major empires rule its recent history: China, Japan, and the US. It has not had independence for hundreds of years and local Okinawans have been in a never-ending fight for local autonomy. The island also has close, personal, and recent history with war. We met and talked to older residents who remember living through horrific battles on their island from World War II between Japan and the US and still can't escape those memories because of reminders from base helicopters and planes constantly flying overhead. Imagine having memories of plane shootings from actual war and then having to live constantly thereafter with bases that perform training exercises with planes flying overhead and shooting. These people just long to live in peace.
Lastly, local Okinawans understand all too well the connections between the bases next to their homes and wars going on in other parts of the world. We heard numerous accounts from people who told us that they think of their homeland as an "island of peace" and abhor the idea that the US military bases hosted there are used as training grounds for wars abroad. Okinawans easily recognize the increase of troops in Okinawa to the build-up of troops for campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. They told us stories of how their jungles (and people) were used to train troops for combat in the jungles of Vietnam. As local Okinawan residents related to us, they not only long to live in peace but also long to live in a world that is more peaceful. Base-hosting on their island makes them unavoidably complicit in a world where security is controlled by military force, and they long to see Japan and the rest of the world move away from this model of security and towards a more peaceful one that doesn't rely on military power to provide security.
The past four days in Okinawa was a wonderful experience that enlightened me to the problems and concerns of local Okinawans in their campaign against unfair US military base hosting. I hope to share more about this experience and the lives and struggles of Okinawans in future entries. Stay tuned for more stories and pics from this trip!
JRG
In future blogs, I will go into more detail about each of the issues surrounding bases in Okinawa and for now will provide a quick summary of our findings from local citizens of the situation and the problems they face in resisting plans to build more US bases in their communities and neighborhoods. First, we learned through personal stories and testimonials how local Okinawans carry a heavy and unfair burden for hosting bases of the world's largest and most powerful military. Local Okinawans must fight to get their voices and concerns heard by not only the US military and government but also their own government in Tokyo and mainland Japanese citizens who have no connections to or awareness about living with military bases next door—the fighter planes flying day and night overhead or the confiscation of precious agricultural farmland and abundant beach and sea waters that have sustained generations of families to the national government to lend to the US for base-hosting. Often both the US and Japanese governments do not listen to and ignore local Okinawan citizens.
The local citizens of Okinawa are also fighting to reclaim and protect their land and communities from further development of military installations out of concerns for local safety and environmental preservation. Military bases bring a lot of noise and air pollution and risks from training exercise accidents. For example, Futenma Air Force Base sits in the middle of a large city with schools, libraries, and other centers where local residents meet, and these places have been sites of numerous flight accidents originating from the base—flights that occur every five minutes on days of intense training exercises. These bases damage the local environment too. Oura Bay, where construction of a new base is slated, is home to coral reefs and marine life that is not found anywhere else in the world, and base construction would disrupt and destroy much of this unique sea life.
The problem of hosting bases is exacerbated for Okinawans with local history with war and conquest. The island has had three major empires rule its recent history: China, Japan, and the US. It has not had independence for hundreds of years and local Okinawans have been in a never-ending fight for local autonomy. The island also has close, personal, and recent history with war. We met and talked to older residents who remember living through horrific battles on their island from World War II between Japan and the US and still can't escape those memories because of reminders from base helicopters and planes constantly flying overhead. Imagine having memories of plane shootings from actual war and then having to live constantly thereafter with bases that perform training exercises with planes flying overhead and shooting. These people just long to live in peace.
Lastly, local Okinawans understand all too well the connections between the bases next to their homes and wars going on in other parts of the world. We heard numerous accounts from people who told us that they think of their homeland as an "island of peace" and abhor the idea that the US military bases hosted there are used as training grounds for wars abroad. Okinawans easily recognize the increase of troops in Okinawa to the build-up of troops for campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. They told us stories of how their jungles (and people) were used to train troops for combat in the jungles of Vietnam. As local Okinawan residents related to us, they not only long to live in peace but also long to live in a world that is more peaceful. Base-hosting on their island makes them unavoidably complicit in a world where security is controlled by military force, and they long to see Japan and the rest of the world move away from this model of security and towards a more peaceful one that doesn't rely on military power to provide security.
The past four days in Okinawa was a wonderful experience that enlightened me to the problems and concerns of local Okinawans in their campaign against unfair US military base hosting. I hope to share more about this experience and the lives and struggles of Okinawans in future entries. Stay tuned for more stories and pics from this trip!
JRG
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