2 hrs 59 mins ago
TOKYO (AFP) – Several dozen people took to the streets of the Japanese capital on Saturday to protest against a US airbase on Okinawa ahead of a huge rally planned for the island.
Up to 100,000 demonstrators are expected at Sunday's rally in a row that has dominated national politics and soured ties with Washington.
"We are carrying out the protest here in Tokyo today to give momentum to Okinawa for tomorrow," Ryota Sono, an organiser, said as 70 demonstrators marched through the capital's entertainment district of Shinjuku.
Photo: Several dozen people took to the streets of the Japanese capital to protest against a US airbase on Okinawa ahead of a huge rally planned for the island."It's really time to stand up and tell the United States to pull all US bases from Okinawa," the 28-year-old said.
The row centres on the locally-unpopular US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which under a 2006 pact with Washington was to be moved from the crowded city of Ginowan to a quieter coastal area on Okinawa.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who came to power in September after a landslide election win, launched a review of the 2006 pact, but Washington has repeatedly urged Tokyo to stick with the deal.
On Friday, under questioning from a conservative lawmaker, Hatoyama staked his job on resolving the issue by the end of next month.
Most people on Okinawa want the base moved off the island after complaining for decades about the burden of hosting more than 30 US military facilities, a legacy of Japan's World War II defeat.
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