US for OKINAWA is a new peace action network based in Tokyo that was recently formed by U.S., Japanese, Canadian, New Zealand, Australian, Welsh, Mexican and other citizens living in Japan who are concerned about Okinawa. A deliberate double entendre, US may be read both as "us" (you, me, everyone), as well as U.S. (reflecting the proactive stance of Americans in Japan who support a base-free Okinawa).

US for OKINAWA was organized out of shared concern regarding the danger that the U.S. Futenma Air Base poses to the people of Okinawa, as well as the pressure exerted by the U.S. on the new Japanese administration to construct a replacement facility for the base in Henoko, an environmentally fragile area on the eastern part of the island. If carried out, this construction would likely spell the extinction of the endangered dugong (cousin to the Florida manatee) and simply shift the problems of contamination, air pollution, safety hazards and crime associated with Futenma to another part of Okinawa. US for OKINAWA is committed to forming liaisons with Okinawan and Japanese peace groups, whom we join in strong opposition to these bases not only for the hardships they impose upon Okinawan residents, but also for their use as launchpads to inflict violence and instability upon innocent people elsewhere (such as during the Vietnam War, and more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan). Finally, we add our voices to the International Network for the Abolition of Foreign Military Bases (NO Bases) calling for the dismantling of the more than 1,000 foreign military bases across the world, and for the creation of sustainable alternatives to economies that presently remain dependent upon their existence.

Okinawa makes up only .6% of Japan's territory but “hosts” 75% of all US military bases in the country under treaties that were negotiated by Tokyo and Washington, without input from the Okinawan people. The island already shoulders a disproportionate military burden, and US for OKINAWA applauds Prime Minister Hatoyama for having the integrity to call for a halt to new base construction in Henoko. The Obama administration’s demand that Prime Minister Hatoyama submit to its wishes or risk jeapordizing US-Japan relations is aggressive action that shows complete disregard for the right to peace and self-determination of the Okinawan people, and is extremely unbecoming of a Nobel Peace Prize recipient. US for OKINAWA strongly believes that continued friendly relations between Japan and the U.S. should not depend on the construction of yet another base in Okinawa, and calls upon President Obama to return Futenma to the Okinawan people, and to desist from pushing for further unwanted military expansion.

US for OKINAWA will hold its first media appeal in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park (near the rectangular fountain) on Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 14:00.

For more information, contact: Emilie McGlone at 080-12957612 or email to us.for.okinawa@gmail.com

Blog: http://www.us-for-okinawa.blogspot.com/