The U.S. military and Okinawa have always had a rough relationship, ever since the occupation of Japan in 1945. However, just recently on December 13, a transport helicopter lost its window when it was flying overhead Daini Futenma Elementary School in Okinawa. This incident lead to Gov. Takeshi Onega’s response later on:
“It is unforgivable that it dropped in the middle of the playground”
Because of this unfortunate incident, past concerns about other incidents will be put to the forefront again, such as past murders and rapes that have occurred.
Many other responses have come up because of the incident, such as one from Yoshihide Suga (the Chief Cabinet Secretary):
While it is still unknown what the exact aftermath of this situation will bring, it is good to note that just a week earlier, a foreign object from another helicopter had fallen on an Okinawa nursery school roof. This incident, although not causing any harm to the people, also raised some questions.
“I’m appalled to think what would have happened if … had shifted just a little bit,”
says Take Nago, a caretaker at the nursery.
Although we can only hope that the right steps will be made to avoid such conflicts in the future, only time can tell what will happen if more of these incidents do occur. Gov. Takeshi Onega has always been a supporter of officially removing the base off of Okinawa ever since he was elected back in 2014. What will happen to the Futenma US Marine Corps base is not determined; however, it seems as if there is some resistance in Okinawa currently as tensions rise and fall.
