March 24, 2008	Monday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 15, 1429

OKINAWA, March 23: Thousands demonstrated against the US military on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa on Sunday, following a string of incidents involving US personnel, including alleged rapes.

Despite pouring rain and harsh wind, crowds took to the streets, raising their fists and shouting slogans in protest over the heavy US military presence on the island.

“We must bring our anger to both the governments of Japan and the United States,” Tetsuei Tamayose, one of the organisers, said in an address to the crowd.

The rally was organised by local residents infuriated by the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl by a US Marine last month.

It was one of the largest demonstrations against the US military here since 1995, after three US servicemen gang-raped a 12-year-old, setting off a process to reduce the number of Americans stationed on Okinawa.

“We demand the government take effective action to stop the violation of Okinawa people’s human rights,” according to a resolution read out by the protesters.

“We demand the US military presence, namely the Marines, to be reduced.” The participants, including elderly and families with small children, clapped their hands in approval of the resolution.

But Okinawa governor Hirokazu Nakaima, an ally of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, failed to appear, angering many at the rally.

Organisers, who had expected more than 10,000 people to turn up, estimated the crowd at 6,000.

Japanese prosecutors dropped the case against the Marine accused of raping the 14-year-old, as the girl did not want to pursue it amid intense media attention. Speakers and participants at the rally hit out at some of the media and public reaction, which blamed the girl for being careless in letting the alleged assault take place.

One guest speaker, an Australian woman named only as Jane, defended the girl and spoke of her own experience of being raped by a US sailor in Yokosuka, a naval port city south of Tokyo, in 2002.—AFP