resolution

Respect of the People in Okinawa

2016 Book of Resolutions, #6144

Won’t God provide justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he be slow to help them? (Luke 18:7).

This cry of despair can be found in the voice of the people of Okinawa, Japan. In the November 2014 elections, the residents of Okinawa reaffirmed their demand that the U.S. military base in Okinawa be closed. The elected governor ran for office on closing the base and opposition of a new base off the sea of Henoko.

In recognition of the great investment that The United Methodist Church has made in the mission of the Church in Okinawa (Japan) since the turn of the [twentieth] century, with the arrival of the first Methodist missionary, this resolution is presented to request the support of United Methodist congregations for one of the urgent issues in mission of the Okinawa District of The United Church of Christ in Japan, the Christian body with which The United Methodist Church has a cooperative mission relationship.

In accordance with the US-Japan Mutual Security Treaty, which grants the US use of facilities and areas in Japan, the United States military forces occupy a substantial amount of the land area of Okinawa Island, in addition to having exclusive use of designated air and sea space for military training. This vast military presence greatly hinders the development of Okinawa and threatens the livelihood of Okinawan citizens.

Even after Allied occupation ended on the Japanese mainland in 1952, Okinawa remained under complete US military administration for twenty years, until 1972, when the islands reverted to Japanese jurisdiction

Private property requisitioned by the US military to construct the vast military bases after the war is still held today, denying some 30,000 families the right to live on and utilize their own land. Military aircraft produce ear-splitting noise on a daily basis. Military drills endanger the lives of citizens and destroy the natural environment.

Since 1972, the date of Okinawa’s reversion to Japan, US military personnel have committed thousands of crimes. These crimes, which include robbery, murder, and rape, imperil the fundamental human rights of the Okinawan people. The residents of Okinawa living around the bases become the primary targets of this violence, with women and children being especially vulnerable.

In its July 8, 2001, statement, the Okinawa District of the United Church of Christ in Japan demanded “1) apology, mental and physical care, and compensation to the victim, and 2) removal of military bases from Okinawa in order to establish sovereignty and to protect dignity of Okinawan people.”

The Okinawa District considers militarization to be an issue that the church is called on to address in its mission of peacemaking.

In light of the above, the General Conference of The United Methodist Church continues to join with Okinawan Christians in urging the following four appeals to the governments of the United States and Japan:

a thorough investigation of all crimes and acts of violence committed by US military personnel stationed on US military bases in Okinawa, and an apology and compensation to the victims of the crimes;
an immediate cessation of all military exercises that destroy the environment and threaten the daily life of Okinawans;
an immediate review of the US-Japan Mutual Security Treaty (AMPO) which completely ignores the laws of Japan, imposing great hardship on the people of Okinawa; and
establishment of a peace not based on military power, and the removal of all US bases from Okinawa.

Therefore, be it resolved, that the 2004 General Conference support the prefectural government of Okinawa and the vast majority of the Okinawan people in their strong, unceasing efforts to achieve the complete removal or substantial reduction of US military bases and US military personnel on the island of Okinawa and other islands in Okinawa Prefecture of Japan, and the return of those lands for peaceful, constructive purposes; and that a copy of this petition be sent to the President of the United States, the US Secretary of State, and the US Secretary of Defense for consideration and action, as well as to the Governor of Okinawa and the Prime Minister of Japan for their information.

ADOPTED 2004
READOPTED 2008
AMENDED AND READOPTED 2016
RESOLUTION #6144, 2012 BOOK OF RESOLUTIONS
RESOLUTION #6114, 2008 BOOK OF RESOLUTIONS
RESOLUTION #331, 2004 BOOK OF RESOLUTIONS

See Social Principles, ¶ 165B, C.

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