Understanding Henoko: Okinawa’s Military Base Problem
The southern prefecture of Okinawa has been a critical piece of the US-Japan security alliance since the American occupation of 1945 and most prominently after Okinawa’s reversion to Japan in 1972. Central to this role is the building and facilitation of US military bases on Okinawan soil, which houses more than 70 per cent of US bases in Japan despite composing less than 1 per cent of Japanese territory. The abundance of US military activity has given rise to a number of human rights violations from gender-based violence to an absence of self-determination stemming from 1945 to the present day. These have come to a head with the ongoing promise between the Japanese and US governments to relocate the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station from the crowded area of Ginowan to the Henoko coastal bay.
Background
Human rights violations in Okinawa, as previously stated, are hardly a new phenomenon. The push for a relocation of the Futenma Air Station arose from outrage due to a 1995 case of US military servicemen raping a 12-year-old Okinawan girl. While citizens wished for a closing of the air station, the US and Tokyo officials proposed instead for the construction of a new base along the less populated Henoko, and only then would the Futenma Air Station be taken down. Doing so would result in the destruction of aquatic wildlife and endangered species such as the Okinawa dugong. As recently as 2015, the former Okinawan prefecture governor Takeshi Onaga tried to appeal this decision, but it was declared that a prefecture could not override the decision of the central Japanese government. Okinawa has consistently been used akin to a chess piece within US-Japanese relations, as the placement of bases on Okinawan soil satisfies Japan’s responsibility for supplying the US with the territory for military personnel.
Following 1995, the Futenma Air Station remains in use. Henoko base’s construction has received numerous hurdles over the decades. Many Okinawans oppose the relocation as they wish for the Futenma Air Station to be removed with no possible relocation. In light of a great voice to demilitarize Okinawa and lessen its burden, anti-base movements have sprung forth and continue to be active to this day.
Security
For the US, the demilitarization of Okinawa has a strategic difficulty. Okinawa’s proximity to Taiwan affords it a prime location for pressuring China, and with tensions between China and Taiwan intensifying Okinawa has the potential to become an initial combat zone for Japan once more. Currently, Okinawa houses 32 US military installations. From the perspective of Okinawa for Okinawans, a crucial question must be raised about whom the US-Japan security alliance has been seeking to protect. Noise pollution, environmental harms such as PFAS contamination in water supplies near bases discovered as recently as this December, falling debris from aircrafts, and 581 cases recorded by the Okinawan prefectural police since the 1972 reversion involving murder, robbery, and sexual violence from US servicemen to Okinawan citizens. A proliferation of misconduct and gender-based violence are only some of the numerous harms the bases have caused for Okinawans.
In spite of this, should Okinawa be used as a combat zone, citizens would most likely suffer the brunt of the violence. Many of the 32 military installations are situated in close proximity to civilians. The current state of the US-Japan security alliance favors the US and Japan to the detriment of Okinawa not only in peacetime but in the outbreak of violent conflict. Should relations with Taiwan and China continue to deteriorate, an echo of the battle of Okinawa where Okinawans were used as sacrifices for the greater central nation of Japan may surface on the Indo-Pacific.
The Future of Henoko and Okinawa
The importance of Henoko extends far past a single military base. In part, this relates to the determination of Okinawa to overcome its own history of colonization. Hedged between the US and Japan, its voice has been silenced in both directions. Attention to human rights violations occasionally lights up international discussions, but ultimately, hardly anything has been done to reduce the disproportionate number of US installations. While it is unlikely that the base in Henoko will finish construction anytime soon, Ginowan continues to suffer from the continued use of the Futenma Air Station. Anti-base movements will continue to swell.
Okinawa has a relatively peaceful history regarding protests with few instances which could be classified as a riot. The most notable is the 1970 Koza Uprising started in response to a US serviceman hitting an Okinawan man in a drunk driving accident. This occurred on the back of several instances of violence from military personnel to Okinawan citizens with little legal repercussions. While the property was destroyed, no attacks were made against people. This uprising and several smaller demonstrations severely interrupted local businesses that catered to servicemen. With the swell of current anti-base sentiments, while a violent uprising is unlikely, the Okinawan people may discover other creative methods to disrupt and express their grievances. Considering Okinawa’s importance to the US-Japan security alliance, it is about time for Okinawan views to be taken more seriously.