Okinawa Protest Draws Thousands

A crowd estimated between 50,000 and 65,000 strong took the streets June 19 in the Naha, the Okinawan capital, to protest U.S. military presence on the Japanese island prefecture. The news agency RT reported that the demonstrators, which included its governor and representatives from opposing local political parties, were reacting to a litany of crimes committed against its citizenry by U.S. military personnel. Recent incidents that sparked local outrage include an alleged murder of an Okinawan woman by a Defense Department civilian employee, a drunk-driving accident that injured two, and an alleged rape of a Japanese woman by a Marine. Commanders of U.S. installations there had reacted to the reported crimes by restricting movement among troops and temporarily banning off-base consumption of alcohol.