Japanese PM heckled by angry crowd at Okinawa battle anniversary

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been heckled at a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Okinawa - which saw some of the Pacific’s worst fighting in World War Two. Locals are angry at the continuing US military presence on the islands, and Abe was greeted by shouts of “Go Home!” as he took to the podium on Tuesday. Abe appeared rattled by the jeering, a reception rarely seen by a Japanese leader, and he told the audience that Japan had for decades enjoyed the dividend of peace after the horrors of war.

People in Okinawa have long been asked to carry a big burden for our security. We will continue to do our best to reduce it.

apanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Governor Takeshi Onaga got quite a different reception as he told the 5,000-strong crowd that Okinawa had borne the “heavy burden” of U.S. deployment in recent decades. He said that “73.8% of U.S. military facilities (in Japan) are still concentrated in our prefecture, which makes up only 0.6% of the country’s land area.” A plan to move a U.S. air base from a crowded urban area to Henoko on the coast is proving deeply unpopular, and Onaga demanded “that the government cancel construction at Henoko”.

Asia-Pacific Okinawa