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Japan OKs law to continue U.S. bases on Okinawa
Island governor, landowners denounce move
April 17, 1997
Web posted at: 10:18 a.m. EDT (1418 GMT)From Correspondent John Lewis
TOKYO (CNN) -- Japan's parliament passed a controversial law Thursday that gives the government the power to extend leases for U.S. military bases on the island of Okinawa, even if landowners object.
Approval of the bill came amid angry protests by landowners and their supporters, who repeatedly halted the parliamentary session, chanting anti-American slogans and calling the legislation unconstitutional. Hundreds of demonstrators staged a sit-in to protest the law outside the building in downtown Tokyo.
Protests in Japan's parliament
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Okinawa Gov. Masahide Ota denounced the measure.
"We regret this law," he said in a statement. "The law discriminates against the Okinawan people and violates the constitutional right to ownership of property."
The upper house approved the legislation by a majority vote, giving a rubber stamp to last week's passage of the bill by the more powerful lower house.
The final approval comes less than month before thousands of leases expire on the small southern island, the increasingly unwilling host of two-thirds of the 47,000 U.S. troops in Japan. About 3,000 small landowners are refusing to renew leases that will expire May 14. But most landowners have agreed to the renewal, and the land of those who refused accounts for only a small portion of the territory used by the U.S. military.
Passage of the law comes ahead of a state visit to Washington by Prime Minister Ryutaro, who is to meet with President Clinton. Security issues will be a key item on the agenda.
Long-simmering opposition to the U.S. military presence culminated in 1995 when three U.S. servicemen raped a 12-year-old Okinawan girl. That incident touched off massive anti-U.S. demonstrations on the island and a call for the removal of all U.S. military bases from the island prefecture.
Related stories:
- U.S. sailor suspected of beating Japanese woman - April 3, 1997
- U.S. sailor accused of rape in Japan - April 2, 1997
- U.S. servicemen convicted in Okinawa rape - March 7, 1996
- Okinawa rape case changed dynamics of debate over U.S. military's role - March 8, 1996
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