As US Military Flies Overhead, Okinawa Residents Live Under a Cloud of Fear
NOVANEWS
By Jon Letman, Truthout
A spate of US military aircraft accidents, incidents and emergency landings have many in Okinawa fearing for their safety. The Japanese southern islands comprise less than 1 percent of Japan's territory but host roughly 70 percent of US military bases. (Photo: Jon Letman).
Last December 7, Eriko Miyagi was at the Midorigaoka nursery school in Ginowan, Okinawa where she's a teacher's assistant. Just after 10 a.m., as the children were preparing to go outside to play, they were startled by a loud bang on the roof. The sound came right after a US military helicopter flew overhead.
Like many Okinawans, Miyagi knows military aircraft well. "It was a CH-53E," Miyagi says, recalling the morning.
Midorigaoka nursery school is just 300 yards from Marine Corps A...