A U.S. military helicopter crash in Okinawa on Monday has fueled already heightened opposition by residents in the local community where outrage has been ongoing over plans to relocate an existing US base from one area of the island to another.
As residents on the Japanese island re-energized their protest in the wake of the crash, the country’s Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera demanded Tuesday that all HH-60 helicopter flights immediately halt until a full investigation of the crash is carried out.
The helicopter, from the US-run Kadena Air Base, crashed in Ginoza, Okinawa while on a training mission, leaving one military personnel unaccounted for and three survivors. Residents were specifically concerned that the crash site was in close proximity to the area’s drinking water supply.
The incident quickly spurred local outrage among residents furious at pollution and danger from US military operations, with 200 protesting at the gate to the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station in Ginowan Tuesday and demanding the sprawling military bases be shuttered.
“[US forces] leave people’s lives on a back burner and give priority to military training,” Ryokichi Chinen, 74, from the town of Chatan in Okinawa, told the Global Post. “U.S. military aircraft crashes could occur anytime. The military bases should be removed.”
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