Time for America to leave Okinawa?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/massive-protest-okinawa-opposes-us-military-killing-071800325.html

Massive protest on Okinawa opposes US military after killing


Tens of thousands of people on the Japanese island of Okinawa protested Sunday against the presence of U.S. military bases there, many wearing black to mourn the rape and killing of a local woman in which an American contractor is a suspect.
The rally called for a review of the U.S.-Japanese security agreement, which burdens Okinawa with hosting the bulk of American troops in Japan. Also contentious is a plan to relocate a Marine Corps air station to a less-populated part of the southwestern island. The relocation plan developed after public anger erupted in 1995 over the rape of a girl by three American servicemen.


crime linked to American troops. The U.S. contractor, a former Marine, was arrested on May 19 on suspicion of abandoning the woman's body, but has not yet been charged with killing her.
Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga told the crowd at the rally in Okinawa's capital, Naha, that he wanted to apologize to the woman for failing to protect her, even after what happened in 1995.
"We had pledged never to repeat such an incident," he said. "I couldn't change the political system to prevent that. That is my utmost regret as a politician and as governor of Okinawa."
About 65,000 people attended the rally, according to the Kyodo News agency. Many people held signs demanding the Marines leave and the overall military on Okinawa be scaled back.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is behind the security agreement with the U.S., and wants Japan to take on a bigger military role on the international stage. But those at the rally said they wanted a more peace-oriented Japan.
"This is not how we want the country to be," said university student Jinshiro Motoyama. "We want the bases gone."
A rally was also held in front of the prime minister's residence in Tokyo, drawing about 10,000 people, timed to coincide with and show support for the Okinawa rally.
The U.S. military has periodically tried to ease tensions on Okinawa, and says the crime rate among its ranks is lower than among the general public.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Navy imposed a drinking ban after an American sailor was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving on Okinawa, driving the wrong way on a freeway and crashing into two vehicles, injuring two people. The restriction was recently eased.
Last month, Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson, the commanding general of Marine Forces Japan, stressed the importance of the bilateral alliance. "Please do not allow this terrible act of violence to drive a wedge between our two communities," he said on Okinawa, referring to the woman's death. "There may be issues we differ on. But we must continue to talk. Let's keep those lines of communication open."
But Jeff Kingston, a professor of Asian history at Temple University in Tokyo, said resentment about the bases will likely continue on Okinawa, adding that he believes the base relocation project may be delayed.
"I think they just feel so frustrated," he said of residents of Okinawa. "These protests are not just going to go away."

 

The Far East is going to have their asses in a sling if they keep forcing America out of that corner of the world. I wrote in one of my threads about how the US moved out of the Phillipines and it's been non stop bullying from China ever since. Fishing in other countries waters or trying to extend their territories...they're even building artificial islands over there.

...and we all already know how North Korea is acting up.

It's a shame that a handful if incidents would jeopardize the military's stay over there. Many might say, "the US doesn't belong there," but those countries are always the 1st ones to be looking for or expecting the US to help. It's not cheap to send a carrier fleet to the rescue (whether it's a neighbor getting out of hand, a natural disaster or malfunctioning nuclear plant), costing millions, and it's certainly not anything we can do "quickly."


In comparison to the "Asian" - dudes, every day rapist and killers...the few incidents caused at the hands of American soldiers/sailors is just that. Few.

...They best hope that Donald Trump doesn't (win and) get his way cause if he does and they get in trouble, you can best believe that America is not going to come running to help them. Trump will let them get fucked up and have to beg before getting US help. Worse yet, the US not being there to cast a 2nd thought to a would be attacker, is probably going to drag us into a major war.

IJS....

 

We're not entitled to have military bases anywhere in the world.
When people talk about the American empire, it's the proliferation and extension of our military power into almost every far corner of the globe that makes countries resent us.

If Japan wants us out, I'd be the first one to pack it up.
We don't have military bases in Japan for the benefit of the Japanese.

Those bases are purely strategic to hit China quickly if something like WWIII jumps off.

I don't want Japan to have nukes, but would it be so wrong to allow them to rebuild their own military and become a world power again???

 

I much rather the Middle East become stable before we start pulling out of places like Japan. All we need is something to jump off over there while there are already constant wars in a region not far away. They deserve to be able to do their own thing but not at the risk of having 2 major unstable regions in the East. Timing is everything. If you don't want Japan to have nukes, it's best we stay for now. One of the biggest threats we have is the possibility of fighting both Iran and N Korea at the same time. I don't even want to imagine the possibility of Russia or China being in the middle of that noise, but both are players and would most likely be somehow involved.

Self preservation is real. There is not much room for idealists in military strategy.

 

Japan is a world power, had nukes and if they don't have a stash...they have the capability to quickly build one within a month. However, as shitty as it sounds, not having one readily available does nothing for a world power. You get rocked by a nuke, you might not even have a factory or key personel even if it's 80% built. A nuke is a deterrent. It keeps country A from mashing the button simply because it signifies IMMEDIATE retaliation/button pushing by country B. Not, hold on -hold on...let me put my bullets in my gun; just wait I'm going to go build a nuke and bomb you; or any type of dumb shit like that.

Also, it's not just China that they have to worry about. Russia is right there along with North Korea, India, Packistan and a few tiny countries with a tone of money, know how and (probably nuke) weaponary from the Former Soviet Union, etc. However, when a country falls to an enemy, it's people, it's technology, it's weapons stash and it's land end up meaning a larger opponent for us.

The US isn't focused on WW3...it's focused on stopping WW3 from happening (thus Russian planes being allowed to do silly shit like buzz or fly over US warcraft). Diplomacy - you can't just whip your dick out and scream mine is bigger any more. What would the US have gained by letting a Phalanx rip into them or tossing a few Tomohawks their way? Nothing...we would have played right into their hands. As dirty as the US is...it stands for what's right and it will always be a role model.

(Snowden playing whistle blower and running to Russia for support would be like Adam running to the Devil for pretection from God :smt021 We should have wacked that dumb fuck at first chance...I have no doubt that he has given them something that makes them think or know they have an edge)

You'd be surprised how many countries back down just because America is right there, not only in case things get crazy, but also from a diplomatic, let's talk point of view. That has been America's ideology and stance since WW2 - It's always just a matter of time before we/US get's dragged in so be proactive. North Korea, China and Russia are up to something. They all have population, food or money issues. They are actively trying to stir up shit so they have a reason for acting out because they all have something to gain from war. The real question is whether Middle Eastern countries have secretely joined forces with them?

Have you not noticed that there have been no major threats of war on this side of the planet. There are over 25 countries between North, South Americas and a few islands. If we "had" a rowdy country it would have been Cuba. The rest of the squirmishes have been "internal" and due to economics(outside of the Falcon's) and or the drug game. There are roughly 150 countries on the other side of the planet. Crowded quarters and there is always some shit going on somewhere. Each land mass (europe, africa, asia) has an ongoing major conflict (that's outside of what Bush started). Constant fighting over race/cleansing; religion; land/borders, food and threat.

The US does benefit Japan by being there. Not only in military assistance, but in economic and time of need. In a ranking of power on that side of the Globe, they are in the top 5, but they almost stand alone as a power with politics that are in line with the US. If shit pops off, Japan is probably going to be the first country attacked without an neighboring ally to help. There relationship with South Korea is probably based on those country's mutual assocation with America.

If the US gives up on policing the world, putting that responsibility solely in the hands of NATO, shit is gonna jump off. The powers that be already know that. It's why they accept the negative stigma that comes with policing the world.

A big wall around the US and keeping to ourselves is good for no one except those lying in wait to exploit the weaker.

 

You sound like a neocon, darkwawyer.:smt070

Did you ever stop to consider we have such strained military relationships with countries like North Korea/China/Russia and a host of Middle East countries because of our military presence in their backyards??

Imagine if any of the aforementioned countries had strategic military bases in Central or South America, or somewhere in the Caribbean??

The entire continental U.S. would be on edge and there would be constant discussions about potential WAR with country X.

I doubt there's a serious threat from China, Russia or North Korea attempting to invade Japan because that would trigger a much wider military conflict.

In the 21st century Japan is no more than a trade partner with other nations in the region, and except for North Korea faces no serious military threat, except for China on their ongoing dispute with Japan over the Senkaku Islands.

Japan wants to re-militarize, is forming alliances with Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines and frankly doesn't need us to watch their back 24/7.

When citizens in a country are protesting that you leave, IMO it's time to go.

Russia's economy is broken, North Korea would collapse in any war lasting longer than 4 weeks and China huffs and puffs but the last thing they want is to be dragged into a broader war in Asia.

The oligarchs in Beijing are all about making that paper, not flexing military muscle.

We have multiple military bases in Japan, Okinawa is just the largest.

I say we turn those bases over to Japan, let them form their own form of an Asian NATO and we can bounce.

Constant U.S. military presence around the world IMO is not a good thing.
Most Americans don't realize the Pentagon has roughly 800 military bases around the world(!!).

We have almost 200 military bases between South Korea and Japan alone.

The Roman, Egyptian and British empires at their height never had close to the military reach the United States does today.

Just saying that when you've got a dude smiling in your backyard who's playing with guns all the time telling you he has keys to your backdoor, it pisses people off.

We aren't some force for moral justice around the world.
That's just propaganda for domestic consumption.
It's all about our strategic interests.

Sometimes that's to the benefit of host nations and the region, but not in places like the Middle East.

 

Man please. If they had the edge that we have they would be doing us the same way. Russia is ran by a dictator who is also one of the richest people in the world yet he can care less about the economy of his own country. He has already invaded 2 countries in the past 8 years, how is he any different than Sadaam?? China is a fucked up backwards country with modern day slaves and subjective views on economics and they are the reason North Korea exists to this day. North Korea has WMD and a fleet of submarines but no real economy, a tragedy waiting to happen. The mid east is full of killers that are good at brainwashing and they have sound knowledge of Science and Tech; they are constantly looking to kill Americans and overthrow any western friendly governments. You think if we decided to just chill read comics, smoke weed and pretend the world runs on it's own that people would just leave us alone?..........lol

America is not innocent by any means but it knows history, and history is full of wars and sociopaths looking to conquer, rob, kill, and enslave whoever they can. We wouldn't be in Japan if they didn't bomb the shit out of us in the first place. Do you know how brutal Japan was to China and Korea? I would love for every country to completely be self sufficient and do their own thing, but not at the expense of allowing them to kick our ass or squeeze us economically. Our ancestors got robbed, raped and killed, I'll be damned if I let the same happen to us over some ideals if I can help it. Yeah it was America that did that to our ancestors but the same evil has happened and is happening all over the world. Those people would do us the same way if not worse.

 

Russia is not Cuba (broke) and it might be having some financial issues, but best believe their weapons cache is huge!!! Same with North Korea. They are not parading all those military toys around for nothing. As far as weapons in our backyard, you shouldn't assume that there isn't something close enough to do serious damage. There have been countless incidents where a Russian sub is right off our coast and, like I said, the Panama Canal is no longer under US control, but China. Who knows what Cuba will bring?

What I'm saying is that it's hella hard/nearly impossible to stop a nuke weapon when it's less than 400 miles away. A missile can cover that distance in less than 20 minutes. So, we have to notice it, contact Washington, make a decision, contact the nearest base and send off something to deter it in half the time. Sound easy?

The Chinese had a regular storefront in NY and it turned out to be a molehill/military spy center that they had somehow managed to dig out another 5+ stories underground without anyone knowing!!! The cable box you have in your living room, the microwave in your kitchen...the porcelain sink you have in your bathroom are all potentially dangerous and where did they come from (China)? Not to mention the big Cisco router fiasco a few years back. You could be getting your eggrolls from a place that has anything from a EMP to a WMD and it's right down the block from your home.

China has stepped on every country's toes in every part of the word. If they don't own part of your country economically, they own massive amounts of land, have infiltrated your network structure or made some other advantageous move against you. Not only does China have sexy women and tasty food...they have brains and determination.

Japan has done it's share of bullying. They have only been "friendly" since WW2. Before then they were at it with everyone. I heard that when they were in the Philippines they had people standing in line to get their heads chopped off. They killed so many of them that they turned the water red.

The Philippines just (in the last week) asked for our/world support (China) and, while it's not Subic Bay, has offered a base up to have a US. This is the pretty much the 1st time that they have not been occupied by a Superpower, yet they are willing to bring us back - to an extent.

Gentlemen, the math equation and answer is there. The technology, man power and money can come from those 3 places that pretty much loath democracy and America. If they get in bed together long enough to accomplish the goal of smashing the US (Canada and England), the world is there's for the taking. I mean, who is going to stand up to them after that? Do we even know where countries, world powers, like Spain, Germany and Italy stand? For all we know those countries are just minutes from being crippled by unseen stashes of Chinese missiles laying wait in the continent of Africa.

The world hasn't changed that much since "modern man" developed. There is still a quest for riches, the goods of other lands and domination....a slave labor force. It just takes place in a different, sometimes, politically correct manner. We create rules like don't bomb civilians or hospitals...soldiers para-shooting and we try to stick by them for the sake of saving face, but you best believe that if shit gets extremely ugly...every country will revert to the old ways before sticking to those rules and going belly up.

The US isn't wanted any where...it's needed everywhere. Yes, the US is a hosed up place, but it's the combination of freedom and love/respect for the people we share this planet with that makes us a necessary evil (if we must be called that). If US citizens had no freedom or right to an opinion...ability to vote...we would be just like one of those other countries. Completely going for self without compassion for the next country. It's a fucked up thing to say, but had the US not stepped on the scene with a nuke in WW2...there is no telling where the world would be right now?...probably on WW4 or WW5 and half the little countries out there wouldn't exist because they'd be consumed by the next strongest country.

 

THere's very little chance China is going to get into a hot war with its biggest trading partner.

Their entire economy is based on selling shit to Americans.
No Walmart, no China.

And let's not buy into WW2 propaganda that the United States 'won' WW2 for the Allies because they dropped two nukes on Japan.

Russia won WW2 virtually by themselves by defeating the Nazi army at Stalingrad.
When we attacked Japan the war in Europe was nearly over.

Hirohito had already lost the war, he just didn't know it yet.
We could have fire bombed Japan like we did Dresden and Berlin.

We dropped a nuke on Japan because we needed to test that shit on live subjects and show the world after WW2 we were the new big dog on the block.

We dropped those two nukes mainly for Stalin to see, not because we had no other alternative in order to defeat Japan.

Back to the OP, just like we didn't have a status of forces deal with Iraq and we left them to figure their own crap out, I'd be gone so quickly out of Okinawa too.

This global military/manifest destiny/police the world B.S. is a big reason why the richest economy in the world can't create jobs, educate its citizens and rebuild our infrastructure.

Countries that spend the massive percentage of their national income on the military like we do eventually end up in big trouble at home economically.

 

The US wanted the Russians to see the first test. But not give them the secrets of its creation. Germany had the first ICBMs(intercontinental ballistic missiles), before that they were using the V-1 flying bombs. They were easy to shoot down by either fighter planes or anti-aircraft artillery fire. Then the V-2s arrived and many people were killed in London and Antwerp.

Klaus Fuchs, a Manhattan project scientist in Los Alamos, New Mexico, passed the secrets to the Russians, which gave the Russians a leap forward when they detonated their first bomb in August of 1951.

Trade is and will always be a major issue globally.

If the US pulled out, Russia and China will run roughshod through Japan,the Philippines and South Korea. Japan has a formidable non-nuclear navy, but It is no match for Russia's air force and naval surface ships, which carries nuclear weapons.

This is why the US military must not leave the Pacific.

 

If you think about it, we have bunch of soldiers, sailors and airmen in foreign nations. Most of those guys would be jobless back in the States. If we brought them back home we'd have to cut the military by 40-60%. Imagine how many civilians were pissed when the soldiers came back for their jobs after being deployed in the middle east. There's a lot of military personnel who are more dedicated and than civilians. Unfortunately, where would be recruit those guys if we had an immediate need for them and how well trained would they be if they already didn't have years under their belts? Also, think about how many civilians are employed by companies like (military, space, etc) Lockheed, Boeing, General Dynamics, etc. That's probably another 10-20% of the people unemployed...and, let me tell you, they get paid good!!! This is something that we have to take into consideration.

Not many countries can create jobs for their inhabitants. I would almost bet that any country with a low employment rate is small, the people are underpaid and their insurance is provided by the gov't or doesn't exist. In rich countries that have low unemployment you will see lots of corruption, separation in classes, exploitation and fraud. Switzerland is always a model for modern countries, but it functions on imports and the industries used to manage those imports. Others wouldn't fare so well if the US wasn't a huge consumer of their goods. Like I said before, anything that impacts the US impacts other nations.

The US provides a great education for it's people. They would just rather fuck off and do drugs than work. You see individuals in China and India putting pussy on the back burner or committing suicide over their grades. Not in the US. We're gonna get some pussy, party and have fun. We spend 150 bucks/day to house each prisoner, but everyone in the US called Bernie stupid for suggesting we pay for college education...do the math on 150x30 and tell me if you can pay for college with that? The US creates situations...controls to try to manage happiness and make money. People are dying to get away from Obamacare, but before that they had no coverage at all (sure...5k/yr for preexisting conditions, but the insurance won't cover that preexisting condition). So why are morons screaming down with Obamacare? Cause the media, controlled by the asswipes who collect premiums for 20 years ($$$) while paying chump change worth's of insurance claims - want to continue pimping you out. Same thing with the exaggerated cost of prisons and locking minorities up at an astonishing and FRAUDULENT rate - It's about the haves making money off of the have nots...

The US has bumped heads repeatedly with China. They just threatened to collect on US debt which would almost cripple us or cost us dearly. We are now put at odds with them because when they start fucking with small nations...the small nations (who don't want us meddling) will call on us. Hell, we even had a spat with, both, China and Russia about fishing in US waters.

There is a major problem with going to the middle east for anything. Doesn't make a difference whether it's to protect Israel on a promise from God or if it's for oil. We should have never meddled in the 1st place. We can always pull out but we fuck everyone who believed in us. We've opened ourselves to attacks regardless of what we do. Once again, we don't need their oil, but Rich people want the wealth that's created through that relationship. We gave people bashing Obama for requesting/not requestiing to drill into reserves
and at the same time, someone creates a car that runs 70 miles on a gallon of water, but the idea just slips into oblivion/paid off...swept under the rug. Hell, we have 2 or 3 hybrid cars that get 50mpg...but you don't see them all over the place.

The world is a very delicate place. It functions on trade. Economies are joined hand in hand for the best possible situation. It would be great to obligate people to small families and think that it would have everyone living a a comfortable medium. Truth be told, it's build on trade, unemployment, cheap goods and modified food/farming. The rich and gov't benefit because the rich invest money and earn. The gov'ts allow it and skim a profit without financial investment (their financial investment is the poor man's taxes). Common people are just the cogs. We have our attention dominated by having it directed by the tools of the gov't and rich folks. "Ohhh or Ooooh, look at that!" A kid falls in the Ape pit or gets snacked on at Disney World and everyone looks that direction. Meanwhile, 3k, 5k 10k die right over there...and it never makes the news. We only need diverted long enough until our next check comes in (living hand to hand), but we probably won't care if we have a new Avengers movie, a hot chick and a fresh cup of Starbucks.

The Matrix' red pill blue pill is not far from reality.

 

Russia did not win WWII all by themselves it was done with American help via sending arms to them. As for those bombs,the Japanese will fight to the death and taken a lot of US soldier's lives along with them. The people who are polled that US should not used those weapons were not even born at that time.

 

If the US military invaded Japan, there would be bloodshed on a level that would be frightening. Men, women and children, ordered by Emperor Hirohito, would be sent in to fight. Even the US military didn't like that proposition. The battleship Yamato and 13 destroyers and one cruiser were going to Okinawa. They only had enough fuel to get them there . This fleet planned to run their ships aground and set themselves up as shore defenses to blast away at the US naval ships(Yamato, the biggest battleship at the time, also had the biggest guns at 18 inches, while the US naval battleships had 14 inches). The fleet was stopped by a squadron of planes from a US aircraft carrier. Yamato and the accompanying fleet were sunk. Yamato's captain requested that he be tied to the wheel. Other sailors did the same. The captain gave the order to abandon ship and survive, but many of the crew stayed onboard as Yamato exploded and sunk.


Even during the development of the bombs Fat Man and Little Boy, the scientists at Los Alamos pondered the question of the moral implications and ramifications. But as Edward Teller once observed during a meeting with Los Alamos scientists that they will be blamed for the results, but if they didn't go to work on the weapons, the freedom of the world will be lost.

J. Robert Oppenheimer, lead scientist on the Manhattan Project, definitely had grave concerns about what he and the other scientists were making.

"I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds," Oppenheimer said after the bombing of Hiroshima.

The bombing of Hiroshima gave the US military break because they didn't want to invade Japan and fight the civilians.

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki did the work for them.

 

We still could have firebombed the hell out of Japan using conventional ammunitions and accomplished the same thing.

We purposefully did not drop an atomic bomb on mainland Europe.
If the Japanese had been Scandinavian and not Asian, you can bet we would not have dropped an A-bomb on Japan either.

Dropping those two thermonuclear weapons was less about winning the war and more about sending a message to the new world order, primarily the USSR.

"We're the USA and we're running shit across the globe from now on, so fall back comrade."



As already stated, we have almost 200 military bases and stations in East Asia, minus Okinawa.

I say let it go.

 

Japan was the last to give up, you are taking too much deserved credit from the US Navy with the statements you are making. You are also downplaying how much of a formidable enemy Japan was.

Lets say for a min that you are 100% right. Stalin was just as much a Tyrant as Hitler so sending him a message is not a far fetched concept. I wouldn't see it as dick measuring.

Pearl harbor was attacked in 1941 but the Japanese did not give up till 1945. You are acting as if we just went over there and crushed them, then waited for the perfect mortal combat finishing move to show off, because Japan was sooo easy to beat.

Man you have a good mind for politics but military is a different story.

 

Ship em over here. We'd gladly take them!

 

The Pacific War was the home of some of the bloodiest battles of WW2.
More often than not when our Marines faced Japanese troops on the ground, the Japanese were willing to literally fight until the last man which resulted in horrific troop losses for Japan.
By the time the U.S. had defeated the Japanese at Midway and Okinawa, Japan had already lost the war.

Maybe the Japanese weren't ready to surrender but their defeat was inevitable.
I've read military scholars who have argued if we hadn't dropped those two nuclear bombs, the nature of Japanese culture and the worship of their Emperor was such that a naval blockade against Japan and constant bombing raids would have resulted in the deaths of 35-60% of Japanese civilians.

Over 20-45 million people.
Compared to close to 230,000 Japanese who died from Fat Boy and Little Man.
I just really hate Truman and think he was one of our most overtly racist Presidents ever and I realize dropping those bombs were just as much a demonstration to the rest of the world,(the USSR had just invaded Manchuria), as it was to force Japan to sign the Potsdam deal.

There probably was no 'clean' way to defeat mainland Japan without massive civilian casualties, but I also believe our military commanders used a weapon they knew should never be deployed in combat again.

We've occupied Japan since 1945. If they want control of Okinawa again without the presence of the U.S. military I'd let them have it.

It really makes no difference in our military readiness or strategic response in Asia.

 

If we move our troops, the ones that get in trouble are just going to get in trouble somewhere else, then those people are going to protest and actually expect us to move because we would have set a precedent in Japan.

When you become president please listen to your top military officers, or you are going to get us in a world of trouble.

 

Get in trouble??:-?

We had soldiers in Okinawa charged with rape and murder.
It can't be that hard to make sure that doesn't happen.

Hell, if we had foreign troops stationed in this country accused of the same crimes, Americans would be trying to burn those military bases down.

 

We do. It's never that much of a big deal...honestly. We don't have 1000s of foreign soldiers stationed in 1 location. That is the big difference. About the only groups that come in huge numbers are Canadians, but we've had other vessels here too. Canadians love to drink, will party and mingle. They are often stationed in small groups on our AFBs too (they attend classes with us). The others, not so much. They stay on their ship and are kept on a tight leash by their captain. Sometimes they don't get liberty. Sometimes they leave in small groups.

We "Live" in their/foreign country. We do the same shit that their citizens do and commit the same crimes (like drunk driving, rape and murder). We have soldiers, sailors and airmen who don't even go home when they get leave. Who only go "home" to the US for emergency. Pretty much, their girlfriend's parent's house is home or the military has provided a home for them out on town; their hometown is whatever town that's close to the base. They do everything there that they would do in their birth town.

Yes, you can restrict the guys to the base. There are a few clubs, activities for them to do...stuff to keep them busy. BUTTTT!!! You best bet that you're going to have to triple the entrance points and provide a bus service for Japanese ladies and guys to come to the base to hang out/party with their friends. Your talking an exaggerated 10k protestors in a city of 1.5 million (the size of Philadelphia). That's less like...minuscule. 10k? Our popular marathons are 4 times that!!! We're not as hated as you think.

It's "traumatic" for Americans to shut down a base and leave. Local people always say, "It's not going to happen." Many are terrified of the unknown. I was in Panama when it happened. There were Panamanian's (and Americans) crying all over the place. I'm not even talking for a week or so...I'm talking panic sets in from the time the word is officially given. Eventhough I was engaged, a lot of my Exs showed up looking for me. They were pretty shook up. It was pretty sad. It was tough for Panama for a few years, but the US didn't totally abandon them right away. I used to go there all the time (on my free time, after military life). Eventually, they adjusted, but it is not the same for soldiers visiting or that generation which grew up with Americans.