Valentine's Day Action!

Joint Valentine's Day Action by US for Okinawa and Peace Boat

"We love you, Prime Minister Hatoyama,
for building peace not bases in East Asia."


On December 14, 2010, US for Okinawa and Japan-based NGO Peace Boat will present a Valentine's gift to Prime Minister Hatoyama as a sign of love and friendship. This gift is to give encouragement to the Prime Minister for listening to the voices of the Okinawan people, suspending the agreement that was made in 2006 between the US and the previous Japanese administration, and postponing the decision on the base relocation until May.

A 45cm x 25cm heart-shaped chocolate cake, bearing the message "We love you, Prime Minister Hatoyama, for building peace not bases in East Asia," will be delivered PM Hatoyama, in a call for him to take the leadership to reduce bases and build peace in East Asia.

The action will be held in front of the Prime Minister's Residence in Nagata-cho, Tokyo at 1:30pm.

The full contents of the letter to be presented to the Prime Minister can be read below.


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February 14, 2010

Dear Prime Minister Hatoyama,

Happy Valentine's Day! On this special day, which honors love and friendship, US for OKINAWA and Peace Boat would like to deliver this Valentine's Day present and letter to you in order to express how much we LOVE your decision to listen to Okinawa and delay implementing the agreement made in 2006 between the U.S. government and the previous Japanese administration to transfer the US Marine Corp Futenma Air Station to Henoko as a pre-condition for closing the dangerous Futenma Air Base. This agreement is enormously flawed, and we applaud you for having the courage to reconsider it. We would also like to use this opportunity to express our support for your vision of fostering greater FRIENDSHIP, peace and security in East Asia through the creation of an East Asia Community. As Prime Minister of Japan, we hope you will continue to build peace, not bases in the region.

US for OKINAWA is a new network of U.S., Canadian, British, New Zealand, Mexican and Australian Citizens who are concerned about the impact U.S. military bases have on the people and environment of Okinawa. The US in our name is a deliberate double entendre, and US may be read both as "us" (you, me, everyone), as well as U.S. (reflecting the proactive stance of Americans in Japan who support a base-free Okinawa).

Peace Boat is an international NGO based in Japan that has been striving for more more than a quarter of a century to create a culture of peace around the world through peace education programs, cultural exchange, and advocacy work.

Together, US for OKINAWA and Peace Boat would like to honor you with chocolate for listening to Okinawa, and express our position on the matter in more detail through the attached letter. Please note that this is our honmei choco. We are sending our giri choco to the U.S. Embassy...

Sincerely,

US for OKINAWA & Peace Boat


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February 14, 2010

Dear Prime Minister Hatoyama,

Through this letter, we would like to express our support for your willingness to listen to the people of Okinawa by temporarily halting an agreement made in 2006 between the U.S. government and the previous Japanese administration to relocate the U.S. Marine Corp Futenma Air Station to Henoko as a pre-condition of shutting down the dangerous Futenma Air Base in Ginowan City.

Undoubtedly, Futenma Air Base should be closed down. Its location in the middle of a dense urban center has already endangered the lives of residents in the past, and the base's military aircraft noise pollution regularly prevents schools, hospitals, public offices and households from carrying out normal activities without disruption. Okinawa makes up less than one percent of Japanese territory, but shoulders the burden of 75 percent of all U.S. military bases in the country, and we support the majority of Okinawans who have long been asking for this burden to be lightened.

The previous Japanese administration's agreement to transfer the Futenma Air Station to Henoko as a condition for closing the Futenma base, however, aggravates rather than reduces the burden of the bases on Okinawa. Inundating much of Oura Bay in Henoko with concrete, dirt and toxic materials in order to expand the perimeters of Camp Schwab and to build two 1,800 meter long runways will irrevocably damage the ecosystem in the bay. Moreover, it will simply shift problems of noise pollution from one part of Okinawa to another. It will also yet again deny the people of Okinawa more access to the land and water that has sustained them and their ancestors for generations. By holding more than 2,000 days of consecutive sit-ins, and by electing a mayor who is opposed to the plan, the people of Nago City have clearly conveyed their opposition to more military expansion in Henoko.

Despite pressure from the U.S. government and from some officials in Japan from the previous administration to ignore this opposition and to begin implementing the plan, we believe you should continue reviewing it. Some scholars, such as Professor Emeritus Gavan McCormack, have clearly analyzed why this agreement is arguably illegal, unconstitutional, deceptive, and unfair, and we think such analyses should be given serious consideration. We also hope your administration will review whether or not the plan violates the World Heritage Convention, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

With every passing year, it becomes more and more clear that the heavy presence of U.S. military bases in Japan aggravates tension between countries in the region, stifles local economies from developing endogenously, and negatively impacts natural resources that are dwindling worldwide at an alarming rate. Therefore, we commend you for having the foresight to seek more effective ways to create peace and security in the region, such as through the creation of an East Asia Community that would foster more dialogue, cooperation and mutual understanding in the region. We believe this community could serve as an important step to the creation of an East Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone and other significant peacebuilding initiatives.

We look forward to hearing your decision in May on the Futenma Air Station relocation plan, and sincerely hope you will continue listening to the people of Okinawa and making efforts to preserve the region's irreplaceable natural heritage.



Sincerely,


US for OKINAWA & Peace Boat