By Chiyomi Sumida
Stars and Stripes
Published: June 23, 2010
ITOMAN, Okinawa — A ceremony commemorating the end of the ferocious World War II battle on Okinawa came with apologies from Japan’s new prime minister that the island still bears the “burden” of hosting a large number of U.S. troops.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan visited Okinawa on Wednesday for the first time since taking office earlier this month. During the ceremony at Peace Prayer Park in Itoman to mark the 65th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa, he apologized “on behalf of all the rest of the nation” that the island prefecture provides the largest volume of Japanese lands devoted to U.S. military forces.
Okinawa hosts about half of the 47,000 U.S. troops and 75 percent of the base property used solely by U.S. forces in Japan.
“On the other hand,” he said. “The burden has directly contributed to the peace and stability in the region, for which I would like to frankly express my gratitude.”
Kan then vowed to work to reduce the U.S. presence here and remove dangers posed by military activities. Some attendees responded with applause, while others remained impassive.
Following the ceremony, Kan told reporters his administration would make every effort to gain the understanding of Okinawan people, who felt betrayed by previous Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama when he reneged on his campaign promise last fall to move Marine Corps Air Station Futenma operations off the island.
“Talks with people of Okinawa have started, in a sense, today and at this point,” said Kan, who took office when Hatoyama resigned after eight months as prime minister.
But Kan stressed that he would honor a 2006 U.S.-Japan military realignment pact that would relocate Futenma operations from urban Ginowan to the rural coastal area at Camp Schwab, near the town of Henoko.
The plan, however, continues to fuel resentment among Okinawans.
Zenshin Takamine, speaker of the prefectural assembly, was applauded loudly at the ceremony when he criticized Tokyo for forcing Okinawa to host U.S. military bases.
“Voices are growing every day on Okinawa, calling for the cancellation of the agreement to move Futenma operations to Henoko,” he said.
Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima, also speaking at the ceremony, urged the Tokyo government to share the hosting of U.S. military facilities more equitably with the rest of Japan.
“I believe these are issues that the entire nation should address and should not be regarded as only Okinawa’s,” he said.
Before the ceremony, 70-year-old Naha resident Yasunobu Akamine stood in the shade of a tree, waiting for Kan to arrive.
“I’m afraid he will end up forcing [the Camp Schwab plan] on Okinawa,” he said of Kan.
Akamine said he has been hoping for many years that a prime minister would come along to reduce the U.S. military footprint on the island.
“Nothing has happened yet,” he said. “But I cannot afford to give up on the hope.”
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