-
![nuked:
A Japanese man with the unusual background of having served in the U.S. Marine Corps is using his experience to vigorously campaign against the U.S. military presence in Okinawa.
Kimitoshi Takanashi, 38, joined the marines in his 20s and once served in Okinawa during his four-year career in the U.S. military.
The sharp-eyed man, sporting a Mohawk hairdo, has a muscular build that hardly looks like the body of a man nearing 40. On his right arm are tattooed the words, “KILL ‘EM ALL.”
After he began publicly speaking on the issue of U.S. forces in Okinawa, the fearless ex-marine gained a following among activists and members of university faculties in the prefecture. At their request, he is giving talks about what he perceives to be the injustices of keeping U.S. military installations in Okinawa.
He delivered his first speech as a former marine at Okinawa University in Naha on May 23, the very day then Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama paid a visit to the prefecture.
[…]
Takanashi grew up in the city of Hiroshima, where his great-grandparents died from the atomic bombing on Aug. 6, 1945. As a child, he often saw off-duty U.S. soldiers come to his city from U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
He grew resentful of the Americans who visited the city to have fun, even though it was a site of intense suffering during the final days of the war. He also felt that Caucasians looked down on Asians.
After serving in the Ground Self-Defense Force for two years, he obtained his U.S. green card and joined the Marine Corps at age 23, partly to prove he could do as well at work as any white American.
[…]
He was posted to Camp Schwab in June 1995. Three months later three U.S. servicemen gang-raped a 12-year-old local girl and Okinawa exploded in fury.
The gravity of the matter prompted Tokyo and Washington to agree the following year on the return of the Futenma base to Japan on condition that Tokyo provides a replacement facility elsewhere.
Amid the vigorous protests by the enraged Okinawans, the U.S. service members in general, according to Takanashi, were apathetic. Marines around him were annoyed by the incident because they were afraid they might get banned from going out when they were off duty, he said.
Okinawans began calling for a full revision of the Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the United States, which pertains to the handling of U.S. service members who commit crimes in Japan. Of particular concern for both countries was defining the specific circumstances under which U.S. military suspects should be handed over to Japanese law enforcement authorities.
No major progress has been made on the overhaul of the accord while the planned relocation of the Futenma base went nowhere.
“U.S. soldiers tend to think they won’t face criminal charges whatever they do here and also know that it is unfair,” Takanashi said. “They don’t talk about this because the inequities (inherent in the SOFA) are advantageous for them.”
Takanashi argues that their attitude reflects their disregard for human rights and racism. “Japan is like a colony of the United States and the most important issue facing Okinawa is neither military nor political but ethnic,” he added.
He is also critical of the way Japan pays money for the U.S. armed forces as host-nation support is squandered.
“Facilities where no one works are air-conditioned to excess and almost nobody goes to movie theaters the Japanese government has built,” he said. “Japan should stop playing the role of a sugar daddy.”
U.S. BASES OUT NOW!!](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l4cfl3RS4s1qzx5z2o1_400.jpg)
A Japanese man with the unusual background of having served in the U.S. Marine Corps is using his experience to vigorously campaign against the U.S. military presence in Okinawa. Kimitoshi Takanashi, 38, joined the marines in his 20s and once served in Okinawa during his four-year career in the U.S. military. The sharp-eyed man, sporting a Mohawk hairdo, has a muscular build that hardly looks like the body of a man nearing 40. On his right arm are tattooed the words, “KILL ‘EM ALL.” After he began publicly speaking on the issue of U.S. forces in Okinawa, the fearless ex-marine gained a following among activists and members of university faculties in the prefecture. At their request, he is giving talks about what he perceives to be the injustices of keeping U.S. military installations in Okinawa. He delivered his first speech as a former marine at Okinawa University in Naha on May 23, the very day then Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama paid a visit to the prefecture. […] Takanashi grew up in the city of Hiroshima, where his great-grandparents died from the atomic bombing on Aug. 6, 1945. As a child, he often saw off-duty U.S. soldiers come to his city from U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture. He grew resentful of the Americans who visited the city to have fun, even though it was a site of intense suffering during the final days of the war. He also felt that Caucasians looked down on Asians. After serving in the Ground Self-Defense Force for two years, he obtained his U.S. green card and joined the Marine Corps at age 23, partly to prove he could do as well at work as any white American. […] He was posted to Camp Schwab in June 1995. Three months later three U.S. servicemen gang-raped a 12-year-old local girl and Okinawa exploded in fury. The gravity of the matter prompted Tokyo and Washington to agree the following year on the return of the Futenma base to Japan on condition that Tokyo provides a replacement facility elsewhere. Amid the vigorous protests by the enraged Okinawans, the U.S. service members in general, according to Takanashi, were apathetic. Marines around him were annoyed by the incident because they were afraid they might get banned from going out when they were off duty, he said. Okinawans began calling for a full revision of the Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the United States, which pertains to the handling of U.S. service members who commit crimes in Japan. Of particular concern for both countries was defining the specific circumstances under which U.S. military suspects should be handed over to Japanese law enforcement authorities. No major progress has been made on the overhaul of the accord while the planned relocation of the Futenma base went nowhere. “U.S. soldiers tend to think they won’t face criminal charges whatever they do here and also know that it is unfair,” Takanashi said. “They don’t talk about this because the inequities (inherent in the SOFA) are advantageous for them.” Takanashi argues that their attitude reflects their disregard for human rights and racism. “Japan is like a colony of the United States and the most important issue facing Okinawa is neither military nor political but ethnic,” he added. He is also critical of the way Japan pays money for the U.S. armed forces as host-nation support is squandered. “Facilities where no one works are air-conditioned to excess and almost nobody goes to movie theaters the Japanese government has built,” he said. “Japan should stop playing the role of a sugar daddy.”
-
-
Female fighters
-
Japan
-
1945 via tessar
-
FLASHBACK PHOTO #29
-
In front of Israeli Embassy in Tokyo, Tuesday, June 1, 2010. About 50 activists protested against Israel’s deadly attack on an aid flotilla bound for the blockaded Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
-
In front of Israeli Embassy in Tokyo, Tuesday, June 1, 2010, about 50 activists protested against Israel’s deadly attack on an aid flotilla bound for the blockaded Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
-
Some 100 Okinawans living in Tokyo and their supporters protest against the Japanese government’s proposal to relocate the controversial US Futenma Marine Corps Air Station from a crowded urban area to a quieter coastal part of the southern island.
(AFP/File/Yoshikazu Tsuno) -
via youhomose
-
-
Mifune
-
(photos REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won) -
Sapporo, July 8, 2009. (Photo by Itsuo Inouye/AP)
Oct. 17 ’10
5:52 pm
Jul. 1 ’10
10:33 pm
Jun. 30 ’10
10:13 pm
Jun. 25 ’10
10:32 pm
1:25 am
Jun. 22 ’10
3:47 pm
Jun. 6 ’10
9:13 pm
Jun. 1 ’10
1:46 pm
1:25 pm
May. 2 ’10
9:08 am
Apr. 18 ’10
11:10 pm
Feb. 24 ’10
1:53 am
Jan. 17 ’10
11:15 pm
Jan. 10 ’10
10:30 pm
Jan. 6 ’10
11:00 pm
