Japan - July 17, 2024

A small group of Japanese protesters took to the streets of Tokyo on Wednesday, demanding an end to the planned relocation of a U.S. air base to the Henoko coastal area and the complete closure of U.S. military bases in Okinawa Prefecture.

According to official statistics, from 1972 to 2023, U.S. soldiers stationed on the southern island of Okinawa and their dependents committed were involved in around 6,200 criminal cases, including murder, rape, robbery and other crimes.

Despite the strong opposition of residents and the local government of Okinawa, the U.S. Marine Corps and the Japanese government have decided to start the construction of the Henoko base in August this year to replace the Futenma air base in densely-populated Ginowan.

Some demonstrators said that U.S. military bases in Japan will not bring peace but will only bring more harm to the area.

Okinawa hosts 70 percent of all the U.S. military bases in Japan while accounting for only 0.6 percent of the country's total land area. Crimes committed by U.S. service members and nonmilitary personnel have been a constant source of grievance for locals.

At least two alleged sexual assault cases involving American service members in Okinawa have recently been made public, triggering strong protests from the Japanese public.

A U.S. Air Force member has been charged with kidnapping a girl under the age of 16 and committing nonconsensual sexual intercourse in December last year. The case came to light in late June, around three months after his indictment, as local police decided not to disclose the incident.

Just days after this case came to light, it was revealed that a U.S. Marine had been arrested in May on suspicion of attempted rape resulting in injury. The case was also not made public by the police at the time, citing the victim's privacy.

Shotlist:
Tokyo, Japan - July 17, 2024:
1. Various of protesters holding banners, placards, shouting slogans;
2. Protesters holding placards;
3. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) protester (name not given)(partially overlaid with shot 4):
"There have been so many crimes of sexual violence against women in Okinawa. Many local people are living in dire straits due to the presence of the U.S. troops in Japan. I'm outraged by the fact that this should never have happened, but now it is happening again and again.";
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4. Placard;
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5. Protesters holding banners, placards;
6. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) protester (name not given)(partially overlaid with shot 7):
"The public opinion in Okinawa has so far been repeatedly demonstrated in elections and popular votes. However, the Japanese government has completely ignored it. I hope the government can fully respect the opinions of the local people.";
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7. Protester holding placard;
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8. Protester holding placard;
9. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) protester (name not given)(partially overlaid with shot 10):
"It's because of the U.S. military bases that such crimes happened here. I hope these bases will disappear from Okinawa as soon as possible, which is also the voice of the local people. It's not just a problem of one U.S. soldier, it's the U.S. bases themselves.";
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10. Protester holding placard;
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11. Protesters holding placards;
FILE: Okinawa Prefecture, Japan - Sept 11-14, 2022
12. Cityscape;
13. Various of warplanes flying;
14. Warplanes at U.S. military base.

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