More on those Okinawa military bases

In response to the previous post Linda Hoaglund emailed:

I am an American filmmaker, born and raised in Japan and I'm currently finishing editing a film about Japanese resistance to U.S. military bases. ... Most Americans, even progressive people of good will, have no idea there are still bases in Japan nor that they are deeply resented.

She offered this YouTube [3:22] about the struggle of Okinawans against the continuing U.S. military presence on their island 65 years after the war that first brought the troops.


You can view the complete trailer for Hoaglund's forthcoming film about Japanese resistance to U.S. war preparations and bases at ANPO: the movie. Some of the scenes from the YouTube are repeated in this, set among works from celebrated Japanese artists. The trailer is a haunting, graceful combination of angry and beautiful. Do check it out. (ANPO is the Japanese acronym for the treaty under which the U.S. maintains its bases.)

For a straightforward list of crimes committed by U.S. forces on supposedly "friendly" Okinawa since 1948, check out this exhaustive list.