ZHAP is an anti-war campaign based in Okinawa fighting against the construction of the new US military base in Henoko, which a recent referendum shows over 72% of Okinawans oppose the construction of. The movement against the US base is made up of a wide coalition of progressive forces in Japan including ZENKO, Movement for Democratic Socialism, the Communist Party of Japan, labor unions, anti-war activists, and native Ryukyuans who over the past decades have consistently opposed US military presence in Japan.
DSA reaffirms our Political Platform commitment to fighting for closing all foreign US military bases and demanding reparations for the human and environmental destruction caused by US toxic military sites. We stand in solidarity with comrades in Okinawa fighting against the construction of the new US military base in Henoko!
To voice your own opposition to the construction of the US military base in Henoko, sign on to endorse the campaign and message your Congressional representatives!
Over 40 US Elected Officials Join DSA and 100+ Organizations to Call on Congress to Shut Down US Military Bases in Okinawa
October 20, 2022
More than 40 US state and local elected officials have joined the Democratic Socialists of America International Committee (DSA IC) and over 100 civil society, anti-war, and environmental organizations in the US, Okinawa, and Japan – including Codepink, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Climate and Community Project, the Security Policy Reform Institute, the Empire Files, and Rootsaction – calling on members of the US House and Senate Armed Services Committees to close the Futenma and Henoko US military bases in Okinawa.
DSA IC is honored to have these elected state and local officials across the country sign on to support Okinawa Environmental Justice Project’s letter to Congress, including New York State Senators Jabari Brisport and Julia Salazar, Pennsylvania State Senator Nikil Saval, Vermont State Representative Tanya Vyhovsky, New York State Assemblymembers Emily Gallagher, Marcela Mitaynes, and Zohran Mamdani, Pennsylvania State Representative Rick Krajewski, New York City Council Members Tiffany Cabán and Alexa Avilés, Rhode Island State Representative David Morales, North Dakota State Representative Ruth Anna Buffalo, Chicago Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, and Hawaii State Representative Amy Perruso. We applaud all officials that signed on for listening to their constituents and taking a stance on this urgent issue, and we continue to call on others to join in support.
DSA IC proudly stands in solidarity with local Okinawan movements calling to close US Marine Air Station Futenma and the new “replacement facility” in Henoko. These military bases have long threatened residential life and the environment in Okinawa – through accidents, chemical contamination, fallen debris, noise pollution, and the destruction of endangered Dugongs habitats and precious coral reefs. It is long overdue that the US government honored its 25-year-old promise to close down Futenma Air Base and immediately cancel construction of the structurally-unsound new military base in Henoko, which over 72% of Okinawans voted against in a recent referendum.
We call on members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to take immediate action and support calls from local Okinawans to shut down these dangerous US military bases. Continued operation and construction pose grave dangers to the people of Okinawa and to the planet. If members of Congress are serious about respecting democracy, protecting the environment, and combating climate change, they must heed local calls and start by curbing the destructive impact of the US Military, the largest non-state polluter in the world.
FULL LETTER & SIGNATURES LIST PDF
OEJP-Okinawa-Letter100-32PressReleaseEnglish
Solidarity message against construction of new US military base in Okinawa
Speaker: New York state senator Jabari Brisport
May 30, 2022
New York state senator and DSA representative Jabari Brisport shares a message of solidarity to comrades from ZENKO and others in Okinawa and Japan fighting against the construction of a new US military base in Henoko.
US Military in the Pacific: Anti-War Conference
NO-KINAWA: Stop Construction of New U.S. Military Base in Henoko
ZENKO Video Message to 2021 DSA Convention
Speaker: Seishi Hinada
August 2021
Other Resources
- Our Island’s Treasure (私達の島の宝)
- As Taiwan Tensions Build, Concerned Okinawans Push for U.S. Military Base Closure
- Japanese Militarism Has Put the People of Okinawa on the Firing Line
- In Okinawa, the US Military Seeks a Base Built on the Bones of the War Dead
- DSA Solidarity Message & DSA National Political Committee member Christian Hernandez’s remarks
- ZHAP as the first step in solidarity DSA International Committee / Ronald Joseph and Anlin Wang
- US Military Exposed 600,000 to Toxins in Japan and Micronesia — and Hid It
- Resistance to US military bases expansion on the Japanese island of Okinawa continues
- With rising COVID-19 cases, US bases in Japan come under scrutiny
- “There Will Be No Stopping the Okinawan Resistance,” an Interview with Yamashiro Hiroji
