No. 1255 Seventy Years of Independence and Fifty Years of Comeback of Okinawa
Japan became independent after the World War II with the San Francisco Treaty (April 28, 1952) coming into effect. Meanwhile, Okinawa, where the harsh and disastrous ground battles were staged, remained under control of the US military rule. The southern island prefecture returned to Japan May 15, 1972, but the inhabitants have been suffering hazards of the US military bases there.
‘LIFE IS TREASURE’ SHOULD BE CLAIMED LOUDLY TODAY
Today it is 50 years since Okinawa returned to Japan. But the island is still threatened by a possible war as a forward base of the regimes of United States and Japan in the eastern Asian region where the two states openly fan military tensions.
Surrender prohibited by military headquarters
In the last stage of the World War II 94 thousand residents as well as 66 thousand Japanese soldiers were killed in Okinawa as it was designated as a shield to defend the emperor and the mainland. People living in the island were mobilized, including male residents older than 14 years of age, as combatants. The US military attacked them indiscriminately, while the government of Japan and its military headquarters forced them to die an honorable death, forbidding surrender.
After the war ended, the inhabitants were displaced from their native lands with weapons and bulldozers employed, and the local economy depending on the military bases compelled them to remain poor, while the mainland enjoyed a high speed of economic development. Thus, the Okinawa’s people have been inflicted by enormous social gaps, compared with those of the other big islands. Even today, the wage level is the lowest of all the prefectures of the country. During the Vietnam War, the island served as the war front of the US military.
In 1972, thanks to the social movements requesting that Okinawa come back to Japan, it returned home. But the integration was combined with consolidation of the US-Japan alliance: the Self Defense Forces (SDF) troops have been stationed and over 70% of the total area of US bases in Japan is concentrated in Okinawa. Violent incidents have been waged one after another by US soldiers, the Futenma Air Field has been maintained inflexibly even today as it is the most dangerous air station in the world, and a new base is being built at Henoko, a northern town. The Inhabitants agonize today, too.
A frontline to cope with China
In addition, Okinawa is designed as a strategic point of the blockading network against China, which was set forth recently by the Biden administration. The strategy boosts up militarization of the South-western Archipelago, extending from the Magejima Island of Kagoshima Prefecture to the Yonakunijima Island, located next to Taiwan. The US authority describes it as a breakwater to deter military extension of China.
The US military frequently drills to transfer fighter jects from the Kadena Base to Guam in order to evade missile attacks, assuming that Okinawa will be a target in case of emergency of the Taiwan Strait. The US Marines exercise routinely and jointly with the Japan’s Ground SDF, in a presumption of operational actions on remote islands of Okinawa. The Japanese government must stop hollow actions to incite China along with the US to expose lives of Okinawan people to calamity of a war. President of the House of Councilors Santo Akiko praised a speech addressed by President Zelensky of Ukraine, saying she had been stimulated by his courage, meanwhile a lawmaker elected from the Okinawa constituency criticized her, complaining that people are dying there but she is excited here. His comment represents a famous, deep-hearted phrase of Okinawans, ‘Life is treasure’.
沖縄は「復帰」50年を迎えた今日も、軍事的緊張を高める東アジアで日米の前線基地として戦争の惨禍に怯えている。
降伏を許されず
太平洋戦争末期、沖縄は天皇と本土防衛の盾として日本兵６万６千人のほか住民９万４千人が犠牲となった。14歳以上の男子を含め住民が戦闘員として動員され、米軍は日本軍と住民を無差別攻撃、政府・大本営は島ぐるみ玉砕を強い、降伏を許さなかった。
戦後は米軍基地のために銃剣とブルドーザーで土地を取り上げられ、基地経済による困窮は「高度成長」を謳歌する本土との格差を拡大、今なお賃金水準は全国最低だ。ベトナム戦争では米軍の前線基地となった。
「祖国復帰」闘争によって72年に実現した「復帰」は、70年代の日米安保体制強化と一体だった。自衛隊も配備され、在日米軍基地面積の７割超が沖縄に集中。米兵による暴行事件の多発、世界一危険な普天間飛行場の居座り、辺野古新基地建設と、今も県民の苦難は続く。
対中国の前線に
その上、沖縄は近年形成され始めたバイデン米政権による対中軍事包囲網の要とされる。鹿児島県の馬毛島から台湾に隣接する与那国島に至るまでの南西諸島の軍事基地化だ。「中国の軍事的拡大に対する防波堤」と位置付けられる。
「台湾海峡有事」で沖縄が攻撃されると想定する米国は、ミサイル攻撃を避けるため嘉手納基地の戦闘機をグアムに移動させる訓練も繰り返す。海兵隊は陸自と沖縄離島での作戦行動を想定して共同訓練を行っている。
自衛隊は、奄美大島と宮古島にミサイルを配備済み。22年度末には石垣とうるま市にも配備する。最西端の与那国には沿岸監視部隊を配備し、現代戦の中枢を担う電子戦部隊の配備計画がある。
米軍指揮下の自衛隊は、国民の命と主権を守らない。米国と一体となって中国を刺激し、沖縄県民を戦火にさらしかねない愚行はやめるべきだ。 ウクライナのゼレンスキー大統領演説に山東昭子参院議長が「その勇気に感動した」と称えた。沖縄選出の国会議員が「人が死んでいるのに感動していいのか」と批判した。「命どう宝」という沖縄県民の心の叫びだろう。
英訳版↓
No. 1255 Seventy Years of Independence and Fifty Years of Comeback of Okinawa
Japan became independent after the World War II with the San Francisco Treaty (April 28, 1952) coming into effect. Meanwhile, Okinawa, where the harsh and disastrous ground battles were staged, remained under control of the US military rule. The southern island prefecture returned to Japan May 15, 1972, but the inhabitants have been suffering hazards of the US military bases there.
‘LIFE IS TREASURE’ SHOULD BE CLAIMED LOUDLY TODAY
Today it is 50 years since Okinawa returned to Japan. But the island is still threatened by a possible war as a forward base of the regimes of United States and Japan in the eastern Asian region where the two states openly fan military tensions.
Surrender prohibited by military headquarters
In the last stage of the World War II 94 thousand residents as well as 66 thousand Japanese soldiers were killed in Okinawa as it was designated as a shield to defend the emperor and the mainland. People living in the island were mobilized, including male residents older than 14 years of age, as combatants. The US military attacked them indiscriminately, while the government of Japan and its military headquarters forced them to die an honorable death, forbidding surrender.
After the war ended, the inhabitants were displaced from their native lands with weapons and bulldozers employed, and the local economy depending on the military bases compelled them to remain poor, while the mainland enjoyed a high speed of economic development. Thus, the Okinawa’s people have been inflicted by enormous social gaps, compared with those of the other big islands. Even today, the wage level is the lowest of all the prefectures of the country. During the Vietnam War, the island served as the war front of the US military.
In 1972, thanks to the social movements requesting that Okinawa come back to Japan, it returned home. But the integration was combined with consolidation of the US-Japan alliance: the Self Defense Forces (SDF) troops have been stationed and over 70% of the total area of US bases in Japan is concentrated in Okinawa. Violent incidents have been waged one after another by US soldiers, the Futenma Air Field has been maintained inflexibly even today as it is the most dangerous air station in the world, and a new base is being built at Henoko, a northern town. The Inhabitants agonize today, too.
A frontline to cope with China
In addition, Okinawa is designed as a strategic point of the blockading network against China, which was set forth recently by the Biden administration. The strategy boosts up militarization of the South-western Archipelago, extending from the Magejima Island of Kagoshima Prefecture to the Yonakunijima Island, located next to Taiwan. The US authority describes it as a breakwater to deter military extension of China.
The US military frequently drills to transfer fighter jects from the Kadena Base to Guam in order to evade missile attacks, assuming that Okinawa will be a target in case of emergency of the Taiwan Strait. The US Marines exercise routinely and jointly with the Japan’s Ground SDF, in a presumption of operational actions on remote islands of Okinawa. The Japanese government must stop hollow actions to incite China along with the US to expose lives of Okinawan people to calamity of a war. President of the House of Councilors Santo Akiko praised a speech addressed by President Zelensky of Ukraine, saying she had been stimulated by his courage, meanwhile a lawmaker elected from the Okinawa constituency criticized her, complaining that people are dying there but she is excited here. His comment represents a famous, deep-hearted phrase of Okinawans, ‘Life is treasure’.
April 27, 2020