The construction of yet another new US military base on the Japanese island of Okinawa began—an island known for its countless incidents of criminal offenses by US military personnel.
In December, Japanese authorities, without the consent of Okinawa Prefecture, approved the continuation of constructing a US military base close to the city of Nago. Now, construction has begun.
The Ryukyu Islands, of which Okinawa is the largest, have long been regarded as an “outpost” and “fortress” in East Asia by Japan and the US. Despite accounting for only 0.6% of Japan’s territory, the island is home to at least 70% of US military bases in the country.
US military personnel stationed in Japan are granted privileges like extraterritoriality, resulting in them usually going unpunished after committing a crime.
According to statistics from 1972 to 2019, US troops and their families stationed in Japan committed about 6,000 crimes in Okinawa, including robbery, rape and murder. A report by the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) revealed that the yearly number of criminal offenses has continued to increase since 2019.
Not only are US troops wreaking havoc on the island, US military bases in Okinawa have largely constrained local economic development. The prefecture’s per capita income is only about 70% of the Japanese average, the lowest level in the country.
Despite decades of protests by residents, US military facilities in Okinawa have increased over the past 50 years, from 58.8% of Japan’s total in the 1970s to at least 70% today.
The US is likely to further expand its military presence in the area with tensions rising in East Asia.
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