Tens of thousands protest on Okinawa to close key U.S. bases in Japan [View all]
Source: USA Today
Tens of thousands of protesters Sunday on Okinawa called for the closure of all U.S. military bases on the strategically important island, following last month's rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman in which a U.S. base worker is the suspect.
It was one of the largest anti-U.S. base protests in Japan in decades and comes amid delicate negotiations over relocating a key American air base on Okinawa and China's increasingly assertive behavior in the Asia-Pacific region.
A crowd estimated by Japan’s Kyodo News service at 65,000 rallied in sweltering conditions at an outdoor sports stadium, holding signs reading, “Marines, Withdraw” and “Our anger has reached the limit.”
Thousands more protested outside Japan’s parliament building in Tokyo, and protests were planned in more than 40 of Japan’s 47 prefectures, according to local news reports.
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Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/06/19/okinawa-protest-marines/86110434/
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