Okinawa Prefecture does not want another U.S. military base.

Outside the subway in a Tokyo suburb, I saw a large group distributing flyers about the proposed military base in Henoko. I’d heard many speeches on the subject at the World Conference Against A&H Bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki earlier in August. There, I’d picked up a copy of a publication titled ‘What Okinawa wants you to understand about the U.S. military bases’. 

‘Okinawa Prefecture understands the need for the Japan-U.S. security arrangement’ the publication begins. Yet, they ask, why must 70% of all military bases in Japan used exclusively by the U.S., be on Okinawa? They go on to describe the devastating affects the proposed base will have on an internationally precious subtropical sea area, rich in biodiversity, and the significant economic impact of housing another base on the Prefecture.

Okinawa Prefecture is composed of 150 islands between Taiwan and Japan's mainland. I had an opportunity to visit Naha, the capital of the Prefecture, and some of the nearby Kerama islands. The island of Aka was particularly spectacular – white sands, lush greenery, tropical fish in clear blue water. It was paradise. But a black dot appeared in the sky and the roar of a military airmobile – a huge vessel with two helicopter spinning motors and a body big enough to carry a bus. It flew low overhead, circling round us for an hour, creating a deafening din and large waves beneath. 

Back in Naha, travelling through the city, I noticed large fenced off quarters with military vehicles behind the gates, graveyards full of American names and an ‘American Village’ amusement park for workers at the bases. 

Okinawa Prefecture’s publication tells of the daily impact of living amongst the bases that Okinawans currently face. Osprey fly low over schools and hospitals at all hours, water has been contaminated from toxic leaks, and there have been over 5,000 arrests of U.S. military affiliated personnel, including horrific cases such as the abduction and rape of an elementary school girl by three U.S. soldiers in 1995 and rape resulting in death of an Okinawan woman by a U.S. military base civilian worker in 2016. After such crimes, as well as military accidents such as plane parts falling from the sky into school playgrounds, there is widespread distrust of the bases and there are frequent protests.

Time is running out to stop the proposed base in Henoko. The final communique of the World Conference Against A&H Bombs calls for international solidarity with the people of Okinawa. We must not let the U.S. turn more of this tropical paradise into a launchpad for their next war.

Article for London Region CND by Hannah Kemp-Welch

Introducing our student team

Welcome aboard Amber Goneni, who’s joined the London CND team as our Youth & Student rep. Amber’s taking a year’s sabbatical as University of the Arts London’s Campaigns Officer. Amber’s full of ideas for the months ahead, so watch this space for news. Amber joins Nobu Ono who runs the CND Society at SOAS and helps organise London CND’s annual conference in January each year, and both are working with Ben to expand CND’s reach among the capital’s students.

Amber Goneni (UAL)

Nobu Ono (SOAS)

Hiroshima to Chernobyl: No to Nuclear! meeting

On August 6th London CND joined millions across the world in remembering the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. Estimates on the number killed range from 100,000 to 180,00 with 63% of the buildings in the city destroyed by the bombing. After a commemoration ceremony in Tavistock square gardens earlier the day, around 50 people attended Friends House, Euston for an evening meeting on the theme 'Hiroshima to Chernobyl: No to Nuclear’.

The event, chaired by Bruce Kent, started with a video report from Hiroshima on commemorations there, as well as clips from HBO’s hit mini-series ‘Chernobyl’. London Region chair Carol Turner spoke on the Chernobyl disaster and the impact the accident had on communities across eastern Europe.

Readings from Nobel Prize winning Svetlana Alexievich’s Voices from Chernobyl by Carol Turner and Jan Woolf, Author and founder of No Glory in War continued this theme. Author and Performer AL Kennedy also spoke on the contemporary dangers of nuclear weapons and power which prompted debate and comment from those in the audience on the subject of mobilizing against nuclear in an age of climate and political crisis.

We will be having more public meetings in the future, so please be sure to keep an eye on our events page for further details.