12 Aug 2018 | 02:02 AM UTC
Japan: Thousands protest US base relocation plan in Naha (Okinawa) Aug. 11
Tens of thousands in Naha protest plans to relocate US military base to another part of Okinawa prefecture August 11; additional protests possible in the coming days
Event
Some 70,000 people staged a demonstration in Naha (Okinawa prefecture) on Saturday, August 11, to protest plans to relocate US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from Ginowan to Henoko (in Nago). The protest was notably held amid heavy rainfall from approaching Tropical Storm Yagi. Similar demonstrations are possible in Naha and elsewhere in Okinawa prefecture in the coming days.
Context
Protesters assert that the relocation plans risk damaging Henoko's coastal environment and ignore the fundamental request of Okinawans to remove the US base from the island. While the Japanese government claims that the US military presence on Okinawa provides strategic deterrence to Chinese military interference in the East China Sea, critics claim that the land used by US military installations on the island represent a hindrance to its economic development.
Typhoons and tropical cyclones are common in the western Pacific from June through November.
Advice
Individuals in Okinawa prefecture, particularly in Naha, are advised to monitor developments to the situation, avoid all protests and demonstrations as a precaution, and adhere to all instructions issued by the local authorities.
