Okinawans ask Kennedy whether dolphins are more important than people
Okinawa (AsiaNews) - The new US ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, arrived today in Okinawa on her first official visit to the island, home to a large US military base since the end of World War II.
For the past few years, the island has been embroiled in a controversy over Washington's desire to move the base to a new location on the island.
Critics point out that the chosen site would negatively affect the local economy as well as threaten a local endangered population of dugong, large marine mammal also known as "sea cows".
On their editorial page, The Okinawa Times and The Ryukyu Shimpo directly addressed the Ambassador Kennedy after she posted a tweet on the issue.
"The people of Okinawa have a desire to share the universal values of freedom, democracy and respect for human rights with the Americans," The Ryukyu Shimpo wrote. "Does the U.S. government respect democracy in Okinawa?"
In a survey, nearly 70 per cent of islanders are against relocating the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area in the city of Nago.
Nago's mayor, Susumu Inamine, opposes the relocation. Just last month, he was re-elected, beating a candidate who backs the move.
Both papers ended their editorials asking the ambassador some questions.
"You expressed that you were deeply concerned by the inhumaneness of drive-hunt dolphin killing," the Ryukyu Shinpo asked. "Then is it not inhumane to pose a threat to the habitat of the dugongs by destroying their feeding grounds? Or menace a population that doesn't want your base?"
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