Tens of thousands of Okinawan residents yesterday rallied against an American military base on the island, raising the heat in a simmering row just days before US President Barack Obama is due in Japan.Opposition has often flared on the island against the presence of the large US military base, strategically located within easy reach of China, Taiwan and North Korea and dubbed the United States' "unsinkable aircraft carrier."
But the election of a new center- left government in Tokyo in September, ending decades of conservative rule, has taken the issue to the forefront of national politics and strained Japan's most important security alliance.
"I urge Prime Minister [Yukio] Hatoyama to tell President Obama that Okinawa needs no more US bases," Ginowan's Mayor Yoichi Iha said at the rally. "I urge Prime Minister Hatoyama to make a brave decision and put an end to Okinawa's burden and ordeal."
Protesters, from elderly people wearing straw hats to young families carrying babies, applauded the mayor's speech in a park near the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Base in Ginowan.
Organizers said 21,000 people gathered for the event, which comes ahead of Obama's visit to Tokyo on Friday and Saturday.
The Futenma base, located in a densely populated urban area, has emerged as a flashpoint for local opponents, who have been angered by aircraft noise, pollution, the risk of accidents and crimes committed by US personnel.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
