Tens of thousands of Japanese people protest against US military presence - Won't see this on CNN

[NNN0LHI]

Or MSNBC either.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/09/2737535.htm

Posted 9 hours 57 minutes ago

Tens of thousands of Japanese people have rallied on the main island of Okinawa to protest against a controversial United States military air base.

The Futenma air base is one of more than a dozen US military bases dotted all over Okinawa.

Okinawa has long been called the United States' "unsinkable aircraft carrier" but the vast majority of Okinawa's 1.4 million inhabitants would like the Americans to sail off into the sunset.

At a rally in Ginowan, more than 20,000 Japanese turned up to call for the US base to be moved off the island.

"No other place in the world has had US troops stationed there as long as Okinawa," Ginowan mayor Yoichi Iha said.

"Okinawa has suffered for too long."

Video here: http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=114455

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. how much is this costing the taxpayer?

[rucky]

2. !!!

I hope other allied countries with a US military presence follow suit. There's no way Washington would even consider shutting down these colonies under domestic pressure alone.

[Ian David]

3. Who will protect them from Godzilla? n/t

[gatorboy]

6. I'm thinking more along the lines of China.

[Ian David]

7. And North Korea. n/t

[PDJane]

4. might have something to do with the

military penchant for raping schoolgirls and getting into traffic accidents.

[Ian David]

8. "Fuck you, dolphin! And fuck you, military base!" n/t

[MrScorpio]

9. The biggest problem with that base is its close proximity to a Japanese university

And this accident:
http://two--plus--two.blogspot.com/2009/08/renewed-calls-for-futenma-closing-on.html

[Romulox]

5. I feel sorry for US taxpayers more than Okinawans. Neither of us has a say, either way. nt

[no_hypocrisy]

10. This country is still a military occupier of Japan almost 65 years after the end of the war.

[BolivarianHero]

11. Too bad the DPJ is too cowardly to fix this mess...

The Japanese expressed loud and clear their desire for change! Let's hope the new government respects their wishes.

[Echo In Light]

12. Good for them! Militarization = FUCKING MASS MURDER & MISERY

End it

[joeycola]

13. Off to the Greatest. At least many will see on DU.

[izzybeans]

14. Close down our Imperial Bases.

[Mudoria]

15. Let the Japanese spend their own money to defend themselves

[Bonobo]

17. Nice way to blame the victim!

[RaleighNCDUer]

19. You do know, that is exactly what THEY are saying.

Our being there serves no purpose any more. It was NEVER about the Japanese, or Okinawans. It was to encircle the communist countries with a ring of US military bases because in the fevered imaginations of cold war Washington, that was the only thing that was going to keep us safe from the red hordes.

The 'self defense' clause of the Japanese surrender after WW2 had nothing to do with it, except give us a reason to keep those bases there. We were not so scared of Japan that we HAD to prevent their re-arming by taking their defense upon ourselves.

Now that the Soviet empire no longer exists, and Red China is our 2nd largest trading partner, why do we need to keep a hundred thousand troops in Japan and Okinawa and other spots in E. Asia? N. Korea? Seriously? They can't even fucking feed themselves.

It's time for us to let the Japanese take responsibility for defending themselves and close ALL those bases.

[NNN0LHI]

20. Omoiyari Yosan

Which basically means that Japan is forced to pay us for occupying them according to the Status of Forces Agreement we signed with Japan.

Don

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omoiyari_Yosan

Omoiyari Yosan (思いやり予算?, lit. sympathy budget), is a popular term for the Host Nation Support provided by Japan for the U.S. forces stationed in Japan. The official term is the Financial Burden for US Forces Stationed in Japan (在日米軍駐留経費負担, Zainichi Beigun Churyu Keihi Futan?). Although technically only the portion of financial support not mandated under the 1960 U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), it is popularly used to refer to Japanese support as a whole.

The term originates from comments made in 1978 by the then Director-General of the Japan Defense Agency, Shin Kanemaru, in defense of the Japanese government's decision to share financial responsibilities for the U.S. bases in Japan. When questioned about the expenditure, Kanemaru replied that they were provided out of "sympathy".

However, with the rising value of the yen increasing the cost of maintaining forces in Japan and Japan's rapid economic growth increasing the ability of the Japanese to contribute, the United States began in the mid-1970s to pressure Japan to increase its support.

[Bonobo]

21. Nice work!

[no limit]

16. Don't worry, I'm sure Fox News is on the ball with this one

[yowzayowzayowza]

18. Lived in Ginowan during the 70's...

they were protesting by the thousands then as well. Bases locked down for weeks at a time.