By Valerie Cha
Okinawa, the “Hawaii of Japan”, remains the most beautiful, touristy islands of all Japan with breathtaking coral reefs and marine wildlife. Although it has become a top travel location for many American tourists, tourists today would find themselves stumbling upon local protesters fighting to end a U.S. Military project: the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. Local Okinawans believe that the location will destroy part of the island’s beauty and become a stressor to many.
As an American tourist in Okinawa this past summer, I witnessed how the relocation of one of the largest American bases on the island united the local citizens against the foreigners who are colonizing their island. After diving into research, I found that the issue dated back to World War II, when the islands of Okinawa became a major location that the U.S. military used to mobilize their troops towards mainland Japan. The Battle of Okinawa resulted in the sacrifice and murder of roughly 160,000 Okinawa citizens which led to a distrustful relationship between the U.S. Military and Okinawa (Sarantakes, 2000). Since the war, the U.S. government continued to develop a number of military bases across the island as it became a valuable location. However, the increase of American presence greatly affected the local Okinawans.
Sarah Bird, a novelist and daughter of military personnel who was stationed in Okinawa, states that the increase of American troops led to a spike in the economy as Okinawa’s tourist industries developed and troops supported local businesses. However, Okinawans made numerous complaints about crime, noise, misconduct under the influence, environmental degradation, economic stagnation and the fact that “we’ve made their homeland an inevitable military target.” Similarly, Tokyo Bureau Chief for The Washington Post, Anna Fifield, claims that many Okinawans believe they unfairly shoulder the burden of the U.S. alliance with Japan. After years of alliance and voicing their complaints, how did all three governments compromise?
Let’s trace it back to 1995 when Okinawa would experience one of the greatest burdens of the U.S. and Japanese alliance: the kidnapping and rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. Marines. Matthew M. Burke and Aya Ichihashi, staff writers for the U.S. military Stars and Stripes News, states that a “furor erupted” over the incident and that local Okinawans demanded that the base be closed. As a result, the relocation project was developed by the American and Japanese governments in an attempt to resolve the issue and avoid continued use of Futenma.
Futenma is located in a heavily populated urban area in central Okinawa and pose safety risks to many of the locals. According to Tim Shorrock, an author focused on US military policies in Asia, the plan is to move the base over to Henoko, in northern Okinawa, by “filling in Oura Bay with earth, sand, cement, gravel, and large rocks.” Having been to the island and exploring the marine wildlife, I can see how Okinawans view this plan as unethical as it would destroy a part of the island’s beauty and harm the existing wildlife. While the relocation plan removes a bulk of American troops from the heavily populated area, the creation of new land and presence of many American troops in a new part of the island are still provoking local citizens. Burke and Ichihashi mentions that the issue ignited a “small but vigorous protest movement” that has been and still are, working to stop the project of relocation and move the operations completely off the island.
In the attempt to resolve an ongoing dispute that was set off decades ago, all parties remain active in the pursuit of relocating the air base and its military families. Given the significance of the issue and the history of it, I plan to illustrate the consequences, benefits and alternative solutions to the relocation project while voicing the opinions of Americans, Japanese, and American Japanese locals.
Troops in Okinawa 