Okinawa governor marks battle anniversary by asking U.S. to leave
 

June 23, 2003

Okinawa governor marks battle anniversary by asking U.S. to leave

Associated Press


TOKYO ? Okinawa?s governor demanded U.S. forces leave the southern island, as residents marked the 58th anniversary Monday of the final land battle of World War II between U.S. and Japanese forces.
?We ask that the United States and Japan boost efforts to relocate U.S. bases from Okinawa and revise the U.S.-Japan security pact,? Keiichi Inamine said in a speech.

Nearly half of the 53,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan are on Okinawa, and Inamine said their presence remains a huge burden for residents. Inamine has repeatedly called for U.S. troop reductions there and made it a central part of his re-election campaign last year.

Okinawans bowed their heads for a minute of silence on Monday for the anniversary of the battle, which happened in the closing months of the war in 1945. A quarter of a million people died, including at least 12,500 Americans and about one-third of the 450,000 civilians on the island.

Although U.S. bases give a major economic boost to Okinawa?s struggling economy, crimes and accidents involving U.S. military personnel in recent years have intensified demands for U.S. forces to leave or be relocated to other parts of the country.

On Wednesday, U.S. military authorities agreed to hand over a 21-year-old U.S. Marine suspected of raping a Japanese woman in Okinawa last month. It was only the second time a U.S. soldier has been handed over on the island before being formally charged.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who did not attend Monday?s ceremony, has said he is studying a response to the Okinawans? demands.






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Copyright 2003 The Associated Press.


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