(LinkAsia: May 18, 2012)
Sydnie Kohara:
In the 1990s, former Okinawa Governor Masahide Ohta led a protest movement to get American military bases out of the prefecture. NHK interviewed Ohta to get his take on life in Okinawa since the 1972 handover.

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NHK World NEWSLINE
Airdate: May 15, 2012

Reporter:
Now 86 years old, Ohta served as the Okinawan governor from 1990 to 1998. After surviving the war, he devoted himself to studies at universities in Okinawa, Tokyo and the United States to try and understand why his island had to make such a great sacrifice.

During his tenure as governor, the Okinawan peoples' anti-US sentiment exploded after the rape of a teenage girl by three US marine soldiers.

In 1996, after a series of negotiations with the Pentagon and Tokyo, Ohta won a concession. The US agreed to withdraw some bases from Okinawa, including the notorious Futenma Marine Air Station.

However, after the governor retired from politics, the base issue became deadlocked over where to relocate it.

Masahide Ohta, Former Okinawa Governor:
People believe so strongly that Okinawan military bases should be cut down and similar to the amount on mainland Japan, but this was not done. So nowadays, there's great disappointment and anger towards the central government. Local people feel that they are betrayed by their current central government after 40 years of reversion.

Reporter:
Anything have changed about the issue of the bases?

Masahide Ohta, Former Okinawa Governor:
Nothing has changed at all. It is even worse.

Reporter:
Ohta survived the Battle of Okinawa as a child soldier. He says the sacrifice of a third of the islanders made him determined to eliminate military bases from his homeland.

Masahide Ohta, Former Okinawa Governor:
I'm afraid unless the people understand the terrible experiences of local people during the Battle of Okinawa, they could not understand why local people are strongly opposed to the US military bases. We believe that local people be protected by the Japanese defense forces, but we were wrong, because Japanese defense forces soldiers killed the local people. They ordered mothers to kill their child simply to keep quiet so that they wouldn't be found out by the enemy forces. So we saw at the front lines such terrible things, which we never dreamed of. So we are very much disappointed in the way that the military does not protect the civilians when the war occurs.

Reporter:
Ohta is frustrated by the indifference of the majority of Japanese towards the US military presence, which could lead to the permanent establishment of bases in Okinawa.

Masahide Ohta, Former Okinawa Governor:
Japanese central government always says that the US-Japan security treaty is so important. It's national interest of Japan. And in order to maintain the peace and security of the Asia-Pacific region, US military bases on Okinawa are indispensable. However, even though they insist that the US-Japan security treaty is so important and it's national interest, the rest of mainland Japan does not want to bring in the military bases to their own backyard.

Reporter:
What do you think about that?

Masahide Ohta, Former Okinawa Governor:
This is nonsense for us, because if it's national interest, they should share the burden, and also obligation, under the name of democracy. In democracy, majority rules, you know? So that the Okinawans lose, Okinawa province will not be served unless those majority pay attention or take Okinawan province as their own province.

Reporter:
Ohta says an increase in the number of young islanders who can clearly say no to what they see as an unfair burden could achieve an Okinawa without bases.

Masahide Ohta, Former Okinawa Governor:
We watch the current situation among the local youngsters. Voices of Okinawa should be independent if the central government tries Okinawan people as they used to. We do not bear any longer. The central government has to listen to the minority groups, people like Okinawan people. I have the hope that they will change.