A/HRC/31/NGO/X

United Nations

General AssemblyDistr.: GeneralXX February 2016
English only

Human Rights Council
Thirty-first session
Agenda item 4
Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention

Joint written statement* submitted by Shimin Gaikou Centre(Citizens' Diplomatic Centre for the Rights of IndigenousPeoples), International Movement Against All Forms ofDiscrimination and Racism (IMADR), non-governmentalorganizations in special consultative status
The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated inaccordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.
[15 February 2016]*GE.16-This written statement is issued, unedited, in the language(s) received from the submitting
non-governmental organization(s).

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Human Rights Violations in Okinawa, JapanIn September 2015, Takeshi Onaga, the Governor of Okinawa Prefecture, made an oral statement at
the 30th session of Human Rights Council, claiming its people’s right to self-determination has
been neglected by the Government of Japan in regard to the construction of a new U.S. militarybase in Oura bay, Henoko. He stepped forward to revoke the land reclamation approval for theconstruction of the new base granted under heavy pressure from the Government of Japan in 2013by his predecessor, Nakaima Hirokazu.
However, the Government of Japan quickly filed complaints in an attempt to suspend and nullify
Governor Onaga’s revocation. It declared its intention to take the issue of Governor Onaga’s
revocation to court and to reinstate or “execute by proxy” the land reclamation approval. This act isclearly against the Human Rights Commitee stated in the concluding observations on the sixth
periodic report of Japan in 2014. It stated “the State party should take further steps to revise its
legislation and fully guarantee the rights of Ainu, Ryukyu and Okinawa communities to theirtraditional land and natural resources, ensuring respect for their right to engage in free, prior andinformed participation in policies that affect them”1.
The exisiting U.S. military bases have caused serious human rights violations in Okinawa, but theconstruction of the new U.S. bases is causing even more severe human rights violations, including
the violation of environmental rights and freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, which arecore rights to ensure the “prior and informed participation in policies”. The Government of Japan
should take measures to guarantee those rights of Ryukyuan/Okinawan people.
Environmental Rights
The rights of the Ryukyuan/Okinawan people to “a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable
environment”2 have been constantly compromised and violated as the presence of U.S. militarybases in Okinawa, while affecting most aspect of the people’s life, is given the highest priority ofimportance by the Japanese and U.S. governments for their bilateral relationship and nationalsecurity.
Many national laws and measures, which address and redress environmental challenges, exist inJapan and are fairly effective in many other parts of Japan. However, in Okinawa, theimplementation and enforcement of these laws and measures on U.S. military base related issues
1International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights Human Rights Committee ‘Concluding observations on
the sixth periodic report of Japan’ (August 20,2014) CCPR/C/JPN/CO/6 at:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2fC%2fJPN%2fCO%2
f6&Lang=en
2Resolution Human Rights and the Environment (A/HRC/25/L.31) adopted at the 25th Session of the HumanRights Council in March 2014.
http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/25/L.31

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has been ad hoc at best and often impossible due to the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreements(SOFA).3 Lack of access to and transparency in environmental information is chronic. While a newaccord was signed in September 2015 by both governments to supplement the SOFA in terms ofenvironmental stewardship, its effectiveness remains to be seen.4 In fact, these national laws andmeasures are occasionally manipulated to secure the continuing presence of U.S. military bases
rather than a safe and healthy environment for the Ryukyuan/Okinawan people. Examples areabundant.
Noise from U.S. military aircrafts around the U.S. Futenma Air Station and Kadena Air Baseconstantly exceed the environmental standards set forth by the Government of Japan based upon its
Basic Environment Act. 5 In some cases, noise reaches 120 dB. The Okinawa prefectural
government has identified U.S. military aircraft noise as contributing factors to health problems
such as hearing impediments and low birth weight in infants among the residents of Futenma andKadena.6 The Japanese court has ruled that noise from U.S. military aircrafts has caused healtheffects on residents of Futenma and Kadena and ordered the U.S. and Japanese governments to pay
financial compensation. The court rulings and residents’ demand for a halt to early morning flights
and evening flights at the bases have not brought about changes to the military’s flights.
Toxic substances, discharged from the U.S. military bases and left underground in land which havebeen returned to Okinawa, have contaminated land and water. They pose health threats to residents
living near the bases.7 In 2013, drums belonging to the U.S. military were unearthed in a soccer
filed, a formally part of the Kadena Air Base, in Okinawa City. They contain high levels of dioxins
and other toxic substances, exceeding well over the environmental standards.8 The Government ofJapan has downplayed the health risks posed by the toxic substances while withholding some
information obtained from its surveys. The Government of Japan has not conducted any survey on
the health risks of residents near the soccer field.

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Nichibei chiikyotei no kaitei o motomete nichibenren karano teigen [Demanding changes to the U.S.-Japan
Status of Forces Agreements: Suggestions from the Japan Federation of Bar Associations]. 2014.
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations.
http://www.nichibenren.or.jp/library/ja/publication/booklet/data/nichibeichiikyoutei_201410.pdf
4Agreement Between Japan and the United States of America on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental
Stewardship Relating to the Unites States Armed Forces in Japan, Supplement to the SOFA.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/files/000117340.pdf
5
Heisei 26 nendo kokuki so-on sokutei kekka [Results of noise surveys in Japanese fiscal year 26 (2014) ]. 2016.
Military Bases Affairs Division, Executive Office of the Governor, Okinawa Prefectural Government.
http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/site/kankyo/hozen/taiki/base/documents/270908kadenafutenmasokuteikekkagaiyou.pdf
6
Okinawa no beigun kichi [U.S. Military Bases in Okinawa]. 2013.
Military Bases Affairs Division, Executive Office of the Governor, Okinawa Prefectural Government.
http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/kititaisaku/DP-02.pdf
7Ibid.
8
Kyu kadena hikojo (26) doboku sonota koji houkokusho gaiyo ban [Former Kadena Air Base 26 Civil
Engineering and other works: Summary version]. 2015.
Okinawa Defense Bureau and others.
http://www.mod.go.jp/rdb/okinawa/07oshirase/kanri/houkokusyo8/2houkokusyogaiyouban.pdf

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The construction of a new U.S. military base in Henoko and Oura Bay in northern Okinawa Island
is considered by many to cause environment destruction to the area, one of the most biodiversity
rich areas in Japan. The Government of Japan is proceeding with construction works however,
because its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the airbase had concluded that theconstruction and operation of the airbase will have no adverse impacts on the environment. Manyexperts, NGOs and the Okinawa prefectural government have questioned and criticized the EIA
conclusions,9 and NGOs have demanded release of the names of the government experts who madethese EIA conclusions. At present, the construction of the airbase is disputed in court between theOkinawa Prefectural government and the Government of Japan.10 The Government of Japan standswith its EIA conclusions and is proceeding with construction works while refusing to release thenames of the experts. All the while, the U.S. Government has not made itself available to theOkinawan public for any inquiry about the airbase.
The environmental rights of the Ryukyuan/Okinawan people are not respected, and real harm anddamages to the environment and our health continue. Lack of access to and transparency inenvironmental information on U.S. military bases related issues contributes to the violation of theenvironmental rights of the people.
Freedom of expression and peaceful assemblyArticle 21 of the Japanese Constitution guarantees the freedom of expression and assembly.
However, these rights are not equally respected in Okinawa, including the right to information on
environmental issues in relation to the U.S. military bases, which is often restricted in order not toescalate the opposition to the foreign bases.11
Media outlets in Okinawa have been particularly targeted as “biased” media due to their critical
coverage of the issues of the construction of a new U.S. military base in Henoko, which ishighlighted by the “Hyakuta incident”. On 25th June 2015, over thirty five junior lawmakers of theruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) held a study session at its headquarters to promote therevision of the Constitution. Naoki Hyakuta, a best-selling writer and former member of the Boardof Governors of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Cooperation), was invited as a lecturer. During thesession, the participants discussed how media outlets critical of the government’s policies should be9

See for example Sakurai Kunitoshi and Gavan McCormack, “To Whom Does the Sea Belong? Question Posted
by the Henoko Assessment.” 2015.
The Asia Pacific Journal: Japan Focus
http://apjjf.org/2015/13/29/Sakurai-Kunitoshi/4346.html
10Okinawa sues Tokyo over Futenma relocation dispute, taking legal battle to next level. JapanTimes. December
25, 2015, http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/12/26/national/politics-diplomacy/okinawa-sues-tokyo-overfutenma-relocation-dispute-taking-legal-battle-to-next-level/#.VsAInoXyelh
11
IMADR and others (December 2015),‘Violation of freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly in
Okinawa, Japan’, p.5, last accessed on 8 February 2016 at: http://imadr.org/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2016/02/Joint-submission-Violation-of-freedoms-of-expression-and-peaceful-assembly-inOkinawa_11Dec2015.pdf

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A/HRC/31/NGO/X“punished”.12 Hyakuta went on to say that “(the Okinawa Times and the Ryukyu Shimpo13) must be
closed down by any means”, in response to a question from one lawmaker on how to “reorient thepublic opinion in Okinawa”.14 The study session sparked a public rebuke. Yet, on 8th February
2016, Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi mentioned possible suspension
measures against broadcasters which are deemed politically biased15, which spread a chilling effecton media freedom.
The police, including the riot police, have used violence to oppress protesters in Okinawa, including
environmental human rights defenders and peace activists. The police forcefully evacuate anddetain them on the sidewalk of the U.S. military Camp Schwab gate in Henoko, where they are kept
inside an enclosure of iron bars and police vehicles. At sea, in addition to detention and evacuation,
protesters and journalists in kayaks and small boats have been subject to violent measures by theJapan Coast Guard (JCG) such as colliding with and damaging their boats and deliberately flipping
smaller boats.16 The JCG has used excessive force, including chokeholds and holding demonstrators
underwater to threaten them with drowning. The police and JCG have taken video footage ofprotesters and journalists, identified and threatened them by name.17 In 2015, at least 15 individuals
were arrested for allegations of violating the Act on Special Measures Concerning Criminal Cases18
or “obstructing police officers from performing their duty”.19 Many of them are believed to bearbitrary, because of the unclear circumstances of arrests. Even some arrests involved theprovocation from police officers. Those measures are used as a means to oppress and discourage
people from joining demonstrations.

Citizens' Network for Biodiversity in Okinawa NGO(s) without consultative status, also share the views expressed inthis statement.

12The Asahi Shimbun (June 26, 2015), ‘Pro-Abe lawmakers offer plan to 'punish' media; Hyakuta wants
Okinawa papers closed’, last accessed on 8 February 2016 at:
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201506260087
13The Okinawan Times and the Ryukyu Shimpo are the two main local newspapers in Okinawa.
14The Asahi Shimbun (June 26, 2015), ‘Pro-Abe lawmakers offer plan to 'punish' media; Hyakuta wants Okinawa
papers closed’
15
The Japan Times (February 9, 2016), ‘Sanae Takaichi warns that government can shut down broadcasters it
feels are biased’, last accessed on 10 February 2016 at:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/02/09/national/politics-diplomacy/minister-warns-that-government-canshut-down-broadcasters-it-feels-are-biased/#.VrtCvfnhCM916
Under the warrant principle, a restriction of personal liberty has to be supported by a warrant from a court judge.
This measure is restricted for an emergency situation.
17IMADR (17 September, 2015), ‘Human Rights Violations in Okinawa, Japan (HRC30, 2015, JointWS), last accessed on 8 February 2016 at: http://imadr.org/humanrights-violations-okinawa-japan-hrc30-2015joint-ws/
18
This act is based on the “Agreement under Article 6 of The Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between
Japan and the United States of America, regarding Facilities and Areas and the Status of United States Armed
Forces in Japan”
19
IMADR and others (December 2015), ‘Violation of freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly in Okinawa,Japan’, p.5

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