TOKYO, May 15 — The Japanese island of Okinawa marks 50 years since the end of US rule today, with discontent simmering about the ongoing presence of American troops and fears about growing regional tensions.
“I’m not in the mood to celebrate at all,” Okinawan native Jinshiro Motoyama told AFP ahead of the anniversary as he sat outside a Tokyo government building on a week-long hunger strike. And that presence has produced a host of issues — from crashes and noise pollution to crimes involving servicemen, including the 1995 gang-rape of a local schoolgirl.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who will be in Okinawa today to mark the anniversary, acknowledged the discontent in remarks Friday before the parliament. It is scheduled to move to less-populated Henoko, but many Okinawans want it transferred elsewhere in the country, with 70 per cent of local voters rejecting the relocation plan in a non-binding 2019 referendum.
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