This week, the Japan-U.S. Citizens for Okinawa Network and the Network for Okinawa have paid for a full page ad to run in The Washington Post.

The ad reads: "Would you want 30 military bases in your backyard?" and asks: "Tell the Obama Administration: We don't need this base in Okinawa."

So why is it exactly that Okinawans are so upset?

Alyona discusses the rising tensions with John Feffer from the Institute for Policy Studies who works in coordination with the Japan-U.S. Citizens for Okinawa Network.

April 26, 2010 — Japanese protest Futenma US air base in Okinawa

It has always been a smokescreen just to collect more money and Okinawans are not really so much against the Bases being here as it is made out. It is similar to the overly elevated news stories of a SOFA status person comitting a crime or having an accident. The real truth is all that really counts and as far as crime goes, if you look at OPG's (Okinawa Prefectural Government) website, you will see that they publish in English the actual percentage of crime comitted by SOFA status personnel compared to total crimes comitted. The average since the early 70's is around a very low 1.6% of the crime. The stinch about the bases comes more from the dimenishing communist party in Japan who is still trying to maintain a foothold. Truth be told, the only thing keeping Okinawa affloat is the Bases and all the money that comes to this prefecture by the Bases being here. It has been 50 years and there as always is this constant World publicity. Maybe the Bases should move. One thing is for sure, when it happens, Okinawa will be cut off financially even from Mainland japan and they will plumit into poverty and be at each others throats as they tend to step on each other now as it is.

"One thing is for sure, when it happens, Okinawa will be cut off financially even from Mainland japan and they will plumit into poverty and be at each others throats as they tend to step on each other now as it is."

This is what they said when we closed the Navy base at Subic Bay, yet that region thrived when the base closed down. Likewise with numerous US localities affected by BRAC. Commercialization of bases has great potential. Perhaps the real issue has to do with Okinawans feeling abused by mainland Japan, bearing greater than their share of the burden of basing foreign military forces on their soil. I kinda expect, if the tables were turned, Americans wouldn't like it too much either.

Not sure about Subic, but I have heard from other people to the contrary, but that is just what someone is saying. Like I said, I do not believe they are really against the Bases being here. Justification would be the amount of them that show up to the Base fairs, flee markets, use the base golf courses, work as MLC's or IHA employees, and the list goes on and on. What I mean by the funding will be pulled is that there is a lot of money funded to the prefecture solely because the Bases are here. If the Bases are no longer here, then there is no longer a need to provide this funding. There will also be a considerable drop in the amount of rent money going to the off-base landlords (also money provided by the Mainland government...well at least the majority of it). There is approximately 8000 Sofa status personnel living off-base paying anywhere from 180,000 yen a month to 600,000 yen a month. Okinawans can not afford such steep rent payments and flat out just won't pay that much. There are many other things, but I will list just one more which is, that there will be 10,000 plus less people shopping off-base. I do not think that comparing Okinawa to Subic would be a fair comparison anyway as the amount of people, land used, money involved, and dependency on an outside governments money are all different from the base closing in Subic.