That's what I am asking you. What makes you think they want to shed their own blood for Japanese defense when the US is willing to do it for them?

Remove military defense, and anyone could decide to invade.

defenders
 

First of all, the US is willing to defend American interests, not a soil where US bases are deployed on. That's why the US administration tries to establish US bases almost everywhere.

Oh, no. I don't think that JSDF are consisted of weak jerks and supported by outdated weaponry.

The defense of Japan is a US interest. Defense of American bases is a US interest.

Again, I would like to hear why you think ordinary Japanese people are no longer interested in the American defense of Japan.

interests
 

Then why those "defenders" caused so much problems to, say, Okinawa inhabitants? Oh, you are right. They defend American interests. It's a TOP priority. Therefore, they can spit upon secondary interests of locals.

quote :

KADENA - THOUSANDS of residents of Japan's southern island of Okinawa Saturday staged a protest against the presence of the US military on the eve of a major rally against a controversial airbase.

Some 2,500 people living in Kadena town, which already hosts a large US Air Force base that frequently provokes complaints over the noise of jet planes flying day and night, protested a government proposal the city accept another US military installation.


Okinawa protests over US base


....why ordinary Japanese people are no longer interested in the American presence in Japan? I think, because Japanese have their own Military Forces called JSDF. They need not Big Brother anymore. But this is my opinion you asked for. Let's ask members of this forum from Japan? ;)

Unsinkable couldn't have been any further from the truth.....

This is all very relative, and without other data it is hard to know what it means. Over 30+ years there have been 533 "heinous" crimes committed by American service people in Okinawa. Is this a lot? I don't know, as I don't have anything to compare it to. Of course, any crime is regrettable, but I think you understand what I am saying.

I do understand if the local residents want to complain about jet sounds, though I wonder what would happen to the local economy if the base disappeared.

But your statement was about "ordinary Japanese" and not just local Okinawans. But I appreciate it is just your opinion. I, too, would be interested in hearing from Japanese natives.

What do you mean?

So Japan has an American base, Europe has lots of them as well, mostly cause Europe doesn't have a very large military anymore and relies on the Americans. Really, the US isn't so much "world cop" as international defense force.

True, I do suppose it would be fairer if everyone had thier own army, but you know..the more nations that have armies, the more wars that seem to break out. Perhaps it's better this way.

Thermogard, what experience do you have with the USN or Japan? What experience do you have with the USN presence in Japan?

I was Navy, I currently have an affiliation with the Navy, and I have a civilian job in Japan. So, I have to wonder how much "field experience" you have with these matters. I've seen the protests, been up close and personal to them. Also my coworkers know of my previous position and current affiliation. I've had conversations with them and none of them relish the idea of a Japan without US protection.

And it is a protection I take seriously. I would lay my life on the line to defend Japan. It's the right thing to do. And I would have done it before I moved here if I had been assigned to Sasebo in Summer 2005 like was planned (resigned instead). We are not occupiers and in the 1940s, the Okinawans called us liberators because Japanese commanders used Okinawans as human shields.

Unfortunately in a navy, marine corps, air force, and army with as much personnel as we have, we are going to get criminals, jerks, and idiots. That is just law of averages. It is hard on all of us when one of those people show up. And commands take it seriously.

So, please tell me where you get your ideas. They do not match up with my experiences.

experience
 

You wrote about protests of locals.

experience
 

I see no connection between my own military experience and the attitude of native Japanese toward to American servicemen currently located in Japan. Sorry.

LOL. You and your coworkers are Americans, right? So it is normal that you support a point of view of the US Administration.

So, feel free to provide a valid source where Okinawans called Americans as "liberators".


I got "my ideas' from the Net. For instance :

According to a 2007 Okinawa Times poll, 85% of Okinawans oppose the presence of the U.S. military[17] due to noise pollution from military drills, aircraft accidents, such as one in 1959 which killed 17 people, and environmental degradation[18], and crimes committed by U.S. military personnel.[19] The Okinawan prefectural government and local municipalities have made various withdrawal demands of the U.S. military since the end of WWII[20], but no fundamental solution has ever been undertaken by either the Japanese or U.S. governments.

Wiki

Okinawa Prefecture is still a part of Japan, right? ;)