Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Around 800 people took part in a demonstration in central Tokyo on Friday to protest against the government’s plans they say will “remilitarize” Japan.

Ahead of a march through the Ginza district of Tokyo, a meeting was held at Hibiya’s open-air theater and the speakers included Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, who joined via a video feed. Tamaki is a well-known opponent of US military expansion in Okinawa Prefecture.

A female speaker from Ginowan, one of the areas affected by US bases in the prefecture, accused the United States of the “quasi-colonization” of the territory.

There were wider concerns expressed at the meeting, including plans to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution amid fear of Chinese military expansion.

The protest was held on the same day the people of Okinawa united eight years ago against the deployment of Osprey aircraft on the island.

In 2019, when a referendum was held, 72.15 percent of Okinawa’s population opposed the construction and expansion of the US base at Henoko. But it was deemed an “advisotry referendum” only and the central government was not obliged to respect the will of the people of Okinawa.