tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post6149293650348548373..comments2023-04-12T05:47:36.251-07:00Comments on Ten Thousand Things: Iejima, birthplace of Okinawan resistanceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355663149540270953.post-60326475438386833492011-06-21T19:19:22.745-07:002011-06-21T19:19:22.745-07:00Iejima was a precursor in the 1950's Okinawa o...Iejima was a precursor in the 1950's Okinawa of forceful land expropriations by the U.S. military at bayonet point and bulldozer to expand already-existing bases. Following Iejima came Isahama in now Ginowan City (Camp Foster) and Gushi in Oroku (now incorporated into Naha City) (Naha Air Base, formerly operated by the U.S. Air Force, currently by SDAF). Futenma had already been turned into a forward operating base for the U.S. Marine Aviation Squadron to attack mainland Japan. <br /><br />The Marine Corps says when the base was built, there was nothing in the area except for barren wilderness. But that's not true. There were five idyllic villages there before the war: Ginowan, Kamiyama, Nakahara, Maehara and Shinjo, all forced to be located outside of the fences and eventually becoming local districts of today's Ginowan City. Old villages were swallowed up into the base and its 2,300-meter runway together with rich farm lands. The Futenma village was located just outside of the encroached land of the base and so escaped the ill fate of incorporation. <br /><br />If U.S. policy planners feel no qualms of conscience about the dark history of those U.S. bases in Okinawa, then they are real villains with no human mind. That explains why they can brazenly demand a quid pro quo for Futenma's facilities in Henoko, Okinawa, all footed by Japanese taxpayers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com