A protest on the Japanese island of Okinawa calling for the closure of a United States military base attracted almost 100,000 people on Sunday, after speculations that the Japanese government may back out of an election promise to force it off the island entirely.
The base, Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, has been long criticized by the Japanese people, as it and other bases on the island have served as the location for most of America’s 47,000 troops stationed in Japan. The US military presence on the island is seen by some as a legacy of Japan’s defeat in World War II by the US.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I say close the base! That money we spend on maintaining overseas military installations is a wast of money! Let Japan spend the money to defend itself, Let Europe share some of the burden! Why are we good enough to give them money and fight and die for them, but then expected to leave them alone!?
The bottom line is these people are none of our business. We simply need to respect the sovereignty of their nation. How we are “expected to fight and die for them”, Michael, I do not know. It doesn’t matter, though. Occupation is a crime, no matter where it is.