> You asked for my evidence, Mr Ambassador. Here it is
9 December 2004, 18:52
Firstly, the U.S. forces have not left Japan since 1945, for almost more than half a century by now! An external imposition, if effective, does not need continued occupation like this by foreign forces for so long. This raises the issue of national sovereignty, insofar as the U.S. has exerted such a predominant influence on Japanese (exclusively pro-American) foreign policy since the end of WWII. But then, a democracy, by definition, is to be by the people, for the people, and of the people and cannot be genuinely democratic under the shadow of an imperial power. The same can be said about West Germany, until it was unified with East Germany and integrated into the EU some years ago. In this light, the U.S. forces should leave Japan tomorrow, along with the other 86 countries where there are US bases.
Secondly, there is widespread resentment against the U.S. imperial presence in Japan, and a good illustration is Okinawa, home to more than half of the 47,000 U.S. troops. In 2000, for instance, "up to 25,000 people are being organised to surround the US Kadena air base on the island. We want to tell the world that we, Okinawans, do not want to live with the US bases...,´ said Okinawa Peace Action Centre director-general Yoshikazu Nakasone.Since the end of World War II, we have been suffering under the dominating US military presence and all we want is to live in a base-free, peaceful society’’ This was after the rape and murder by US servicemen of a little girl. But then, again, a democracy cannot be genuine unless its people have control over its own territory, not under the dominating military presence of an outside superpower.
And thirdly, the political system which has emerged is mostly semi-authoritarian and consensual, in close connection with its distinctive Japanese cultural tradition, but inextricably dominated by a power that dropped two nuclear bombs. Both Japanese and West German political systems are more communitarian than liberal.
Firstly, the U.S. forces have not left Japan since 1945, for almost more than half a century by now! An external imposition, if effective, does not need continued occupation like this by foreign forces for so long. This raises the issue of national sovereignty, insofar as the U.S. has exerted such a predominant influence on Japanese (exclusively pro-American) foreign policy since the end of WWII. But then, a democracy, by definition, is to be by the people, for the people, and of the people and cannot be genuinely democratic under the shadow of an imperial power. The same can be said about West Germany, until it was unified with East Germany and integrated into the EU some years ago. In this light, the U.S. forces should leave Japan tomorrow, along with the other 86 countries where there are US bases.
Secondly, there is widespread resentment against the U.S. imperial presence in Japan, and a good illustration is Okinawa, home to more than half of the 47,000 U.S. troops. In 2000, for instance, "up to 25,000 people are being organised to surround the US Kadena air base on the island.
We want to tell the world that we, Okinawans, do not want to live with the US bases...,´ said Okinawa Peace Action Centre director-general Yoshikazu Nakasone.Since the end of World War II, we have been suffering under the dominating US military presence and all we want is to live in a base-free, peaceful society’’ This was after the rape and murder by US servicemen of a little girl. But then, again, a democracy cannot be genuine unless its people have control over its own territory, not under the dominating military presence of an outside superpower.And thirdly, the political system which has emerged is mostly semi-authoritarian and consensual, in close connection with its distinctive Japanese cultural tradition, but inextricably dominated by a power that dropped two nuclear bombs. Both Japanese and West German political systems are more communitarian than liberal.