Anti-U.S. military protests attract thousands in Naha, Tokyo

[Paklaaji]

Use your brain, if you got enough, you figure it out.

I don`t see how that is relevant. Nice try but I won`t trip over something as simpering as that.

[Alydael]

So you're essentially for a more violent world in which nations scramble to fill the power vacuum we'd be leaving behind. Good to know your opinion is well thought out.

Thank you, I have felt this way for years....... maybe even decades. The world complains about the USA all the time, calls us all sort of nasty things. Let em fend for themselves.

[Paklaaji]

5~ years, you're a tad off. And 2012/13 are still a couple of years off.

Best one I could find. As I said, I see no reason why that should`ve changed in the last years - there have always been assaults and harrasment of local girls/people by some idiot(s) stationed at the base.

[Alydael]

So you're essentially for a more violent world in which nations scramble to fill the power vacuum we'd be leaving behind. Good to know your opinion is well thought out.

Thank you, I have felt this way for years....... maybe even decades. The world complains about the USA all the time, calls us all sort of nasty things. Let em fend for themselves.

It's not just me, most people in the country are tired of this crap.

[Wildtree]

So you're essentially for a more violent world in which nations scramble to fill the power vacuum we'd be leaving behind. Good to know your opinion is well thought out.

A power vacuum can only exist where it gets removed in the first place.
That removal has proven to be the big flaw as of late. It caused more harm than it did any good.

[Uglytoes]

It is interesting to see the responses in this thread. I am actually stationed here and see what goes on first hand, and I also have to deal with the consequences of one person's actions. The person in question for the protests was a FORMER service member who married a local and changed his name to a Japanese name. He was not a DOD employee and was contracted by the ISP on the Air Force base here. What many people don't understand is that many of the "65,000" protesters were not even from Okinawa. They are from countries who have their own political interests here and they are paid protesters.

Many service members here do not have the maturity to be respectful of the Okinawan culture and cannot even conduct themselves decently, but these bases provide a lot of income for Okinawans. We don't own the land that these bases are on, they are leased, and many bases will be given back to the Okinawan government in the near future. Finances aside, the U.S. Military also houses many Japanese military vehicles and aircraft that they have purchased from the U.S. and we conduct many training exercises with the Japanese Ground Defense Forces.

If you think that our presence in Okinawa is purely U.S. interest, you are dead wrong. I would love to go into work on Monday and hear that we're packing up and relocating. I would be willing to bet that North Korea, China, or even Russia would be headed here in no time and I'd be perfectly fine with that.

[Mormolyce]

Nobody wants to live next door to a military base.

Well, if Trump is elected we may very well pull out. In my opinion we should. It is time for Japan to do their own defense.

Haha, yeah those troops are there to defend Japan.

[JohnBrown1917]

Thank you, I have felt this way for years....... maybe even decades. The world complains about the USA all the time, calls us all sort of nasty things. Let em fend for themselves.

Don't worry, we'll be fine here in socialist yurop.

[Deleted]

I would be willing to bet that North Korea, China, or even Russia would be headed here in no time and I'd be perfectly fine with that.

So... You're stationed in Japan, and you'd be "perfectly fine" if the US troops left, and Japan was attacked? Do you represent the majority of the people stationed there? Because, if that's the mentality over there, it explains why people would want to protest.

[Ripster42]

A power vacuum can only exist where it gets removed in the first place.
That removal has proven to be the big flaw as of late. It caused more harm than it did any good.

I'm saying that removing our bases from around the world would cause a huge power vacuum and would lead to a huge increase in wars. Obviously a stupid thing to do. People who think that would actually be a good thing are either very short term thinkers and don't think wars would follow, or incredibly long term thinkers who think they can predict/control the future... without any levers for control because we just gave up all of our bases, or, in the case of the japanese, gave up their largest ally in a region where their direct competition is china who is acting militarily aggressively towards them.

[Shinra1]

Americans need to get a reality check and realise the rest of the world don't like 'em.

[enragedgorilla]

Strategically ?No the U.S. should not.
I am fairly sure the Japanese Govt. enjoys having the U.S. "Guard Dog" doing it's "security" as well.

If the Japanese people WANT the U.S. out ....do that democracy thing,then the U.S should abide by the "host country" rules...(Unless there is a treaty somewhere REQUIRING the U.S. to be there...in that case...be careful what you sign!)

[Alydael]

Don't worry, we'll be fine here in socialist yurop.

That's what I figured. I highly doubted that if we pulled back our bases that you would be attacked the next day or something.....

[Wildtree]

Relevant:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/20.../#bf6e7fc5e1d5

That article is nearly 4 years old, and as we see, the situation unlikely improved:

While the majority of Japanese people, when polled, support their presence (which has decreased quite a bit since the post-WWII occupation period) a vocal minority have continued to question their presence. These objections range from NIMBY type objections, such as the issues surrounding the Futenma base in Okinawa, to general concerns about the continuing presence of another nation’s military forces on Japanese land. It’s telling that while more than 70% of the Japanese population in general say they support the presence of the U.S. miltary, more than 70% of Okinawans say the opposite.

Seems to me like 2 governments ignoring the population of a region too much.

[Ripster42]

Strategically ?No the U.S. should not.
I am fairly sure the Japanese Govt. enjoys having the U.S. "Guard Dog" doing it's "security" as well.

If the Japanese people WANT the U.S. out ....do that democracy thing,then the U.S should abide by the "host country" rules...(Unless there is a treaty somewhere REQUIRING the U.S. to be there...in that case...be careful what you sign!)

Well, sorta. They have to give us 1 year warning to leave.

[enragedgorilla]

Americans need to get a reality check and realise the rest of the world don't like 'em.

Never Stopped the French,English,Spanish ...or any other "dominant nation" when they were on top of the heap.
Why should the U.S go isolationist?(The U.S. did that for awhile...did not go so well for the rest of the world....but I would enjoy seeing it happen again, memories of history are so very short these days)

Though being so "Hawkish" ...yeah, I would say the U.S should stay out of shit....but then someone always asks the u.s./u.n. to "help" so...not sure how all that would work.

Besides our next presidents have money to make that $$$$ sukka's! ....

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Well, sorta. They have to give us 1 year warning to leave.

Yeah I was not sure of the treaties in place...if any.

Well then, if it is a huge issue for ALL the Japanese people, let democracy ring baby!

[JohnBrown1917]

That's what I figured. I highly doubted that if we pulled back our bases that you would be attacked the next day or something.....

Nukes are truly an usefull deterrent.

[Ripster42]

Never Stopped the French,English,Spanish ...or any other "dominant nation" when they were on top of the heap.
Why should the U.S go isolationist?(The U.S. did that for awhile...did not go so well for the rest of the world....but I would enjoy seeing it happen again, memories of history are so very short these days)

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Yeah I was not sure of the treaties in place...if any.

Well then, if it is a huge issue for ALL the Japanese people, let democracy ring baby!

It's not really. Most of japan wants us there. We're basically japan's asshole. Not really pretty, but we serve a purpose. The rest of japan wants the asshole to exist, but okinawa doesn't really like all the shit.

[Uglytoes]

So... You're stationed in Japan, and you'd be "perfectly fine" if the US troops left, and Japan was attacked? Do you represent the majority of the people stationed there? Because, if that's the mentality over there, it explains why people would want to protest.

1. The majority of protesters are paid protesters.
2. I am respectful and I have great relations with many locals living near my base. How would me not wanting to be here change that?
3. Did we forget the reason for this recent protest? I'll remind you. It was due to a former service member killing a local woman. I understand that you don't live here and may not necessarily understand how things work here, but anything that happens here that can draw ANY connection to the U.S. is put under a micro scope to further their agenda. This guy has no connection with the current military forces, he is not even a member of the DOD, he is a citizen of Okinawa and they ran with his former status.
4. Many of the protests are due to accidents involving military equipment such as Ospreys, prior to the last six to eight months, there hasn't really been many crimes against the local people.

Japan owns Okinawa. Okinawans and Japanese are not the same and they actually despise each other. Japan wants us here, the Okinawans don't. I frankly don't care. I'll go home tomorrow, let them deal with Korea and China. I don't think they understand the show of force that we represent to the Pacific by being here.

[Wildtree]

It's not really. Most of japan wants us there. We're basically japan's asshole. Not really pretty, but we serve a purpose. The rest of japan wants the asshole to exist, but okinawa doesn't really like all the shit.

Well, I think it is safe to say, that the population is always all for it.. Until the base gets established in their very neighborhood. Then the support falls.
Which, would mean, that every time a base gets closed because contested by the locals, you'll eventually run out of space where to put one.
People are people. They only ever really care when it happens to them directly.