A struggle is taking place around the Okinawa military base. Here’s what its opponents say.
A struggle is taking place around the Okinawa military base. Here’s what its opponents say.
By Shigeki Okamoto (Fukuoka Action Committee against the Warring Regime)
In the recent House of Councillors election, the LDP-Komeito government became a minority ruling coalition, following the House of Representatives election in October 2024. However, the constitutionalist parties such as Japan Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party retreated, while right-wing parties such as the Democratic Party for the People and the Sanseito (Party of Do It Yourself), even more dangerous than LDP-Komeito coalition, gained ground. The minority coalition government will survive and likely maintain its course of linking a Taiwan contingency to a Japanese emergency, viewing China as an enemy, and further strengthening the Japan-U.S. security framework and military alliance. The mass media focusing on the war in August (of 1945) was filled with accounts of the war damages suffered by the Japanese people, completely ignoring Japan’s responsibility for the harm it inflicted, which claimed twenty million lives and destroyed cities and countryside across Asian nations. This situation cannot prevent a new war.
The intensification of war preparations in western Japan following the Upper House election is proceeding at a breathless pace. On July 29, media reported that the Ministry of Defense had begun coordinating to deploy the first batch of domestically produced long-range missiles, designed to carry out enemy base attack capabilities (counterstrike capabilities), at the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Kenbu Garrison (Kumamoto City), aiming for deployment within the current fiscal year. The government plans to deploy an upgraded version of the “Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Guided Missile” with an extended range of 1,000 kilometers. This missile, capable of striking enemy vessels and bases from outside opponent’s range, will bring China’s coastal areas within striking distance. Furthermore, its deployment to the Yufuin Garrison (Oita Prefecture) is planned for the next fiscal year and beyond, with future deployment to the Katsuren Vice-camp (Okinawa Pref.) also under consideration. In response, on August 4, approximately 100 citizens from groups in Kumamoto City held a protest rally demanding the withdrawal of the missile deployment plan. Logically, China would likely deploy missiles capable of striking Kenbu Camp (as well as both Yufuin and Katsuren) as a countermeasure. In such an arms race, the people of both nations suffer; only the warmongering governments and the military-industrial complex profit. Lieutenant General TORIKAI Seiji, Commander of the Western Army of SDF, stated, “The deployment location is undecided,” and “There will inevitably be concerns and burdens for residents. We must explain carefully. If deployment occurs, we must establish a system capable of effective operation.” He stubbornly insists, “We will pursue military expansion regardless of public concerns or burdens,” and “We will explain, but we will carry out what we have decided.”
On July 9, the first V-22 Osprey aircraft arrived at the militarized Saga Airport, and 17 aircraft have already been deployed to the Saga Garrison of the Ground SDF. Training has begun, and dangerous low-altitude flight training connecting 85 locations across seven prefectures in Kyushu are scheduled to commence. On July 5, the Ground Staff Office of the Ministry announced that the joint operational training exercise “Resolute Dragon 25” with the U.S. Marine Corps will be conducted from September 11 to 25 across eight prefectures, including Okinawa. Approximately 14,200 personnel from Japan and the U.S. will participate, and of course, the Ospreys will be involved.
In Okinawa Prefecture, an intolerable situation is unfolding. On August 4, it was reported that a female schoolteacher wearing camouflage clothing participated in a training experience inside the Ground SDF Ishigaki Garrison. On August 5, the GSDF Miyakojima Garrison conducted a pedestrian disaster prevention drill wearing combat uniforms on public roads within the city. The garrison commander intimidated citizens observing the drill, shouting, “Get permission! Stop it!” Furthermore, a woman who was seriously injured during protests at the Anwa Pier in Nago City in June 2024, where a fatal accident occurred, was questioned twice by the prefectural police on August 6 and 8 as a “suspect” in a case of grossly negligent homicide. This is an outrageous act by police that treats the victim as the perpetrator and a criminal.
Furthermore, on August 7, the Okinawa Prefectural Police raided the home of writer MEDORUMA Shun, who had been monitoring construction related to the new Henoko base, seizing his computer and smartphone. The alleged offense was touching and damaging a fence installed by the Okinawa Defense Bureau. However, it is the Bureau itself that should be held accountable for leaving the fence, which had deteriorated and rusted over time, unattended. On August 11, 75 citizens submitted a protest petition to the Okinawa Prefectural Police. We strongly protest the police crackdown on citizens’ protest activities.
The ruling class, stymied economically, seeks refuge in war and xenophobia. The military and police use military force and public security as twin engines to mobilize the people for wars. Now more than ever, we must raise high the banner of anti-war and peace and build a people’s struggle.
Published in SHISO-UNDO News, September 2025 – NO. 178