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| U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station |
TOKYO, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Around 1,000 protesters marched in Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, on Sunday in protest against the relocation of a controversial U.S. military base and demanded the closure of all bases on the island.
The demonstration coincided with the 44th anniversary of the return of Okinawa from the U.S. rule to Japan.
The marchers held placards saying they opposed the Japanese and U.S. plans to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station from Ginowan to the less-populated coastal region of Henoko, also on Okinawa island.
In 1996 the Japanese and U.S. governments inked an accord to close down the Futenma base and return the land occupied by the facility to Okinawa, with the transfer of the base's functions aimed partly at reducing the burden on Okinawa and its people.
The demonstrators marched close to the controversial base located in the densely-populated region of Ginowan, as well as close to sites that were associated with the bloody Battle of Okinawa in 1945, which was the U.S. only land assault on Japan during WWII and saw more than 100,000 Japanese soldiers and as many civilians killed during the hostilities.
The demonstrators, while calling for the closure of the Futenma base, were also demanding the closure of all U.S. bases on their island.
They also called for an end to war and for the scrapping of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "security plans." The recent enacting of related bills could see Japanese troops deployed to active war theaters overseas for the first time since WWII and in blatant violation of the nation's pacifist constitution.
Read the full story at Xinhua