Comments on: Japan: Bloggers cry foul over plans for Henoko Bay

By: Global Voices Online » Japan: Reactions to alleged Okinawa rape

Global Voices Online » Japan: Reactions to alleged Okinawa rape — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:32:55 +0000

[...] from local citizens, politicians, the government and bloggers [ja], reigniting anger at the continued presence of American military bases in Japan's southernmost prefecture. While different in many ways from the current case, a [...]

By: Okinawa

Okinawa — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 01:26:56 +0000

The thing is, Okinawa is unlike most of the rest of Japan in so many ways. World War II scarred them in ways that they will never forget, and now with much of that land covered in military bases, what hope is there for me even to this day? I applaud them doing their part and trying to reclaim what’s theirs.

By: Global Voices Online » Japan: Protester nearly killed at Henoko Bay

Global Voices Online » Japan: Protester nearly killed at Henoko Bay — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 14:20:05 +0000

[...] statement itself (quoted in the blog entry) outlines the background to reasons for the protests, describes the involvement of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), and notes that the survey operations [...]

By: Global Voices Online » Japan: Self-Defense Forces to be Deployed to Henoko, Local Blogger Issues a Plea

Thu, 10 May 2007 04:49:42 +0000

[...] On the evening of May 9, Japanese broadcaster Nippon TV had an update on events surrounding a scientific survey presently being conducted in the Henoko Bay area of Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost prefecture (see a report on the reactions of local bloggers to this survey posted last week at GVO). The May 9 broadcast mentioned that the government has decided to bring in the Self-Defense Forces in order to put down the activity of the local protesters. In response to the news, a blogger who runs a blog called Kichi Kensetsu Soshi (Stop construction of the base) argues that the real purpose of bringing in the Self-Defense Forces is not to suppress the protesters’ activity in the area, but to legitimize the existence of the Self-Defense Forces as a military: しかし今回の海上自衛隊導入は反対派牽制が一番の目的ではないはずです。今までの物量作戦を考えれば、民間業者を使って作業を強行することも出来るだろうと思うのです。それをわざわざ軍隊を出して来るということは、平和的なカヌー隊を蹴散らすことが目的とは思えません。日本中から抗議の声が上がることを想定した上で、「それでも国はやることはやる」という明らかに間違った主体性を示す道具として海上自衛隊を導入するということでしょう。アメリカにどれだけ発破をかけられたのか分かりませんが、「実力行使」に「自衛隊を使う」という「実績」が欲しいのか、「自衛隊が国民になめられないようにする」ことが目的なのか、「国民に自衛隊の力を認めさせる」ことが目的なのか分かりません。理由ははっきり分かりませんが、野党からわざわざ猛反発を食らうような決断をすることで、「自衛隊」をしっかりと「日本の軍隊」として周りに認めさせる「強行作戦」であることは間違いないと思います。 [...]

By: Global Voices Online » Japan: “Battle in Henoko”: Self-Defense Forces sent to Henoko to suppress protesters

Thu, 10 May 2007 00:44:19 +0000

[...] GVO previously reported about a protest against the construction of a new heliport in Henoko Bay, Okinawa last week. Blogger dr-stonefly quotes news broadcast on Nippon TV that the Japanese government has decided to send the Self-Defense Forces to put down the protesters. Share This [...]

By: Steven Murphy

Steven Murphy — Tue, 08 May 2007 09:50:07 +0000

By speaking up and requiring that the government listens to the will of the people, we can ensure that the Japanese and US governments live up to their obligations under the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the World Heritage Convention in order to protect the Ryukyu Heritage and relationship with the Dugong.