OKINAWA, Japan (AFP) — Thousands demonstrated against the US military on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa on Sunday, following a string of incidents involving US personnel, including alleged rapes.
Despite pouring rain and harsh wind, crowds took to the streets, raising their fists and shouting slogans in protest over the heavy US military presence on the island.
"We must bring our anger to both the governments of Japan and the United States," Tetsuei Tamayose, one of the organisers, said in an address to the crowd.
The rally was organised by local residents infuriated by the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl by a US Marine last month.
It was one of the largest demonstrations against the US military here since 1995, after three US servicemen gang-raped a 12-year-old, setting off a process to reduce the number of Americans stationed on Okinawa.
"We demand the government take effective action to stop the violation of Okinawa people's human rights," according to a resolution read out by the protesters.
"We demand the US military presence, namely the Marines, to be reduced."
The participants, including elderly and families with small children, clapped their hands in approval of the resolution.
But Okinawa governor Hirokazu Nakaima, an ally of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, failed to appear, angering many at the rally.
Organisers, who had expected more than 10,000 people to turn up, estimated the crowd at 6,000.
Japanese prosecutors dropped the case against the Marine accused of raping the 14-year-old, as the girl did not want to pursue it amid intense media attention. Speakers and participants at the rally hit out at some of the media and public reaction, which blamed the girl for being careless in letting the alleged assault take place.
One guest speaker, an Australian woman named only as Jane, defended the girl and spoke of her own experience of being raped by a US sailor in Yokosuka, a naval port city south of Tokyo, in 2002.
"I was already an adult when it happened but it was very difficult to deal with" police and court procedure, she said.
"Don't you think it must be unbearable for such a small girl?"
Seiji Taminato, an 81-year-old at the Okinawa rally, asked: "Does the United States still insult Okinawa even 60 years after the war?"
Following last month's alleged rape, the US military imposed a round-the-clock curfew for about two weeks on its soldiers and their relatives on Okinawa and at two other US bases in Japan.
But with more high-profile crimes linked to servicemen even after the girl's alleged rape, feeling against the US troop presence remains high.
The US military has taken into custody a 22-year-old deserter from the Yokosuka naval base after his credit card was reportedly found in a taxi next to a murdered taxi driver last week.
The US Navy has said he was not a suspect but was being questioned on charges of desertion.
Japanese police Sunday asked for a permission to question the sailor, who reportedly has denied any involvement in the case, Jiji Press said.
The Navy is also investigating allegations that a US serviceman raped a Filipina woman in Okinawa last month.
The US military is stationed in Japan under a security treaty to defend Washington's key Asian ally, which has been officially pacifist since after World War II.
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