Photo/Illutration The coastal area of Henoko in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, in December 2018 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

In August 1996, then-Okinawa Governor Masahide Ota (1925-2017) read out a statement he had written at a Supreme Court session.

In it, he challenged the court’s advice from the year before that he should sign land-lease extension agreements on behalf of Okinawan landowners whose properties were being used as U.S. military bases.

Perhaps hoping for a favorable decision by the highest court, Ota edited and polished his lengthy statement over and over. When he finally finished working on the draft, the session was due to start in two hours.

Ota explained Okinawa’s history, dating back to the 1879 “Ryukyu Shobun” (Ryukyu Annexation) by the Meiji government.

“Ever since then, it has been consistently obvious that the central government’s policy is to be enforced as a matter of priority, contrary to the will of the local people,” Ota asserted.

The Supreme Court ruled against Ota.

I am now reading, with an unspeakably heavy heart, his book titled “Okinawa no Ketsudan” (Okinawa’s decision), which contains the above poignant reminiscence.

The Supreme Court on Sept. 4 rejected Okinawa Prefecture’s claims against Tokyo’s land reclamation project in the Henoko district of the city of Nago.

But the court’s ruling made no mention whatsoever of Okinawa’s reasons for rejecting the project, nor of the current situation concerning U.S. military bases.

The verdict was no surprise, but I was shocked by the utter “coldness” with which Okinawa’s position was dismissed.

On Sept. 4, 1995, a 12-year-old Okinawan girl was raped by three U.S. servicemen, opening the eyes of mainland Japan residents to the enormity of the base-related burden being forced on the people of Okinawa.

Or perhaps I only kid myself to think that mainland Japanese have opened their eyes at all.

Since then, Okinawa has asserted that the base burden should be borne by the entire nation. But 28 years later, nothing has changed about Okinawa hosting 70 percent of the U.S. military facilities in Japan.

All three branches of government--administrative, legislative and judiciary--have always served as multiple layers of a wall to keep Okinawa’s wishes at bay, giving no signs of ever relenting.

The latest Supreme Court ruling has added yet another layer. I stand before the wall, united in spirit with the people of Okinawa.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 5

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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