This Sunday (April 25th) there will be an open air tea party, rally and demo in support of the Okinawan fight against unfair and unwanted US miltary bases. Jen Teeter of 10,000 Things writes…
Give the US and Japanese Governments a YELLOW CARD!
Yellow-garbed, peace-loving people will gather together in Honolulu, Washington D.C., and Tokyo in solidarity with the 100,000 person strong rally that will be held in Okinawa opposing the continued presence of military bases. Kyoto Action against bases in Henoko and Futenma is also organizing a simultaneous action along the Kamo River in Kyoto City. For more information about the activities of Kyoto Action, click here to see a Ten Thousand Things previous post.
In the spirit of ensuring that all voices and opinions are heard with respect and compassion, there will be a river-side Open Air Tea Party where participants can exchange their thoughts on the military build up in Okinawa and the world. 
Participants will also have the chance to create origami of the endangered dugong, one of the beautiful cousins of the sea cow whose habitat will be destroyed should the U.S. military succeed in inundating Henoko Bay with concrete to build a new base.
Should you not be able to make it to the Tea Party, check out this video of how to make the dugong and learn more about the actions of the Osaka and Tokyo-based Save the Dugong Campaign Center watch the following video:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SDCCDugong#p/a/f/1/SttDlaai4M8
The Tea Party will be followed by a rally and then a demo through the sakura streets of Kyoto. Join us in raising our voices against continued military occupation and expansion!
Open Air Tea Party
Date: Sunday April 25th
Time: 3-5pm
Place: Along the Kamo River near Sanjo Street
Activities: Discussion, origami, sanpin tea, and sata andagi (sweet Okinawan buns).
Attire: Wear Yellow (In solidarity with the Okinawa people )
Rally
Time: 5pm
Location: Along the Kamo River near Sanjo Street
Demo Departure Time: 6pm
For more information call Kyoto Action at: 090-2359-9278
Supporting Organizations
Group Chanpuru (ぐるーぷちゃんぷる)
Kyoto Resident Uchinanchu Group (京都在住うちなーんちゅの会)
Kyoto Association of people from Okinawa Prefecture (京都沖縄県人会)
Kyoto Peace Constitution Organization (平和憲法の会・京都)
Kyoto Organization for a Nuke & Base-free Okinawa (核も基地もない平和な沖縄をめざす京都の会（京都沖縄の会）)
Ainu Okinawa wo Kangaeru Kai (アイヌ・沖縄を考える会)
Anti-war Senior Club- Kyoto (反戦老人クラブ・京都)
Kyoto Co-op Workers Club (京都生協の働く仲間の会)
US for Okinawa
and many more…
Thanks Jen!
It never ceases to amaze me how some people refuse to let an accurate understanding get in the way of some gold old-fashioned self-righteous indignation.
I could just as easily say the same about your comment Jeffrey. If you have an argument to proffer in favour of the bases, then let’s have it and let good, reasoned, rational dialogue commence.
Please Jeffery share your opinions at the Tea Party with the rest of the bunch on Sunday. The event is created to encourage dialogue and thus is a perfect place for you to share your points of view. Unfortunately from your short comment, it is very difficult to see exactly what you are getting at and where you are coming from.
Referring to the US-Japan Security Agreement as “military occupation” is ignorance that just can’t be countered. But I’ll try, just a bit. I’m no fan of the military (any military), but we do not live in Oz, and over the decades there have been countries in the neighborhood that would have taken this land for themselves if they could have, and most certainly would have if there had not been some power to deter them.
Normally that power would be the domestic Japanese military, but Japan made the mistake of attacking America during WWII and was beaten wholly and completely for it. Japan became America’s to do with what it wanted, and in what is certainly the most magnanimous decision of the 20th century, patched it up and gave it back. (Had the USSR or China or Korea beat Japan, do you think Japan would exist today as a separate country?)
But Japan had shown that it couldn’t be trusted with the kind of power needed to protect itself, so America made a deal with the new Japanese government… you let us be here and we’ll protect you. This had great benefits for Japan (it could remain Japan) and for America (it could project its power in the region… something America tends to want to do everywhere). Either side can call it off any time, and it’s been this way for 50+ years.
Tokyo could cancel the agreement today if it wanted to.
So, protest against Tokyo for not canceling the agreement. Protest Japanese old enough to have been part of the war that brought defeat and America’s military to these shores. Protest that there are evil leaders of nearby nations that Just Can’t Get Along.
But if you encourage Tokyo to cancel the agreement, realize that a practical prerequisite is that Japan ramp up its military to a sufficient power to truly protect the nation, and a prerequisite for *that* is a new constitution. If you’re prepared for that, then by all means, go for it. Personally, as an American paying American taxes to support Americans protecting us here, I would appreciate not having to spend the money.
And really, what protection do we need in this day and age? it’s been *at least* several months since North Korea shot a rocket at Japan…. I’m sure they’re peace-loving people, too. Probably they hit the button by mistake. China has kissed and made up with Taiwan and Tibet, so you know we can trust them, too.
Let’s all just think happy thoughts. And maybe read a book on history.
Well, thank you Jeffrey for keeping the tone of the conversation so civil and polite! I don’t have time to write a thorough answer right now, as I have a demo to get to (!). I wonder though if it would be possible to discuss this without recourse to sarcasm and condescension. Obviously you feel strongly about this (as do we all), and I think you make several valid points, but the manner in which you make them in does yourself and your argument discredit. That aside, for me this is fundamentally a question of Okinawan rights. The Okinawan people do not want the American bases there and their voice has been long ignored. So yes, I do believe they are protesting against the Japanese government too. Also, I think the idea that Japan is unable to protect itself without American assistance is a myth. Do you know how much money Japan invests in its so called “Defence Forces”? Not a lot of people know this but it is A LOT. Right, I’m off to Oz to play with some munchkins – more later!
I don’t feel strongly about the issue, but I do feel strongly that those who are ignorant of an issue (any issue) should understand it before getting all protesty and preachy about it. The “military occupation” phrase is utterly *moronic* in this context, and demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the issue. That makes it soothingly easy for those who wish to ignore the message to do so.
No one said that Japan is unable to protect itself… they were *disallowed* from doing so early on because they were not trusted with the power, but now they could certainly ramp up in short order and put an end to the Security agreement if that’s what the people wanted. They apparently don’t.
I’ve been to Okinawa and seen the conditions around the bases, and it’s horrible (and as an American, thoroughly embarrassing, though this is a tangential issue). I don’t for a moment blame the folks down there *one* *bit* from wishing the bases gone (or, at least, replaced by Japanese bases), but this is strictly a Japanese domestic issue. Protesting in Okinawa or Kyoto seems less effective than protesting in Tokyo where the national government is, though I suspect that protests of any nature will have little impact on Japanese elected officials.
But it may have an impact on voters, who if they were less apathetic about things that aren’t in their own backyard might actually have a collective will. So good luck on your protest, but for heaven’s sake, understand what you’re protesting and what impact you hope to effect. Your original post showed that you had neither.
You don’t feel strongly about it? I’m sorry but I find that rather disingenuous as you appear to be RANTING. I’ve asked you already to keep your tone civil but you haven’t, so please remember that having your comments published on this blog is not a right but a privilege and one that will be removed if you keep insulting people. I note also that you didn’t respond to Jen’s invitation to attend today’s meeting and exchange opinions there. I guess it’s a lot easier to be rude to people online than it is in person though, eh?
That aside I’m not entirely sure what your argument is other than you are all just a bunch of idiots who don’t know anything about history or that exercising one’s right to stand up for one’s beliefs is being “protesty and preachy” and “self-righteous”. Or are you suggesting that only people in Tokyo and Okinawa have a right or a reason to protest? You say you “don’t for a moment blame the folks down there *one* *bit* from wishing the bases gone” but you have a problem with *folks* elsewhere supporting them? I’m sorry but I don’t understand the logic of that at all. Well, the original post was actually written by Jen, so I’ll leave it to her to defend it and her use of the term “military occupation”. However, before I withdraw for the evening here are some *facts* from http://closethebase.org:
“Today, approximately 21,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed in Okinawa, of which 12,000 are Marine Corps. Together with their families, this amounts to approximately 40,000 residents on the islands. The number of military personnel in the prefecture amounts to about half of the total number of U.S. military personnel stationed throughout Japan. In Okinawa, there are 33 facilities exclusively for the U.S. military, 29 water areas for military training and security, and 20 air force facilities.
Due to the overwhelming presence of the U.S. military in Okinawa, they are often called the “Islands of Military Bases.” While Okinawa’s population accounts for only 1% of the total Japanese population, a disproportionate 74% of all U.S. military facilities are located in Okinawa, covering more than 10% of the Okinawan prefecture. For an area that only amounts to 0.6% of mainland Japan, this situation places an inequitable burden on the Okinawan people.
Equally significantly is that fact that 19% of Okinawa’s main island – the demographic and industrial center of Okinawa – is occupied by U.S. military bases. Residents are forced to live adjacent to the base, in less desirable areas outside the vast U.S. military bases, which occupy most of the flatlands, impeding further economic and industrial development.”
Bearing all that in mind, the phrase “military occupation” seems fairly accurate to me.