Mass Protest Against Relocation Of US Military Base In Japan

LIBRARY PICTURE: PA

Tens of thousands of protesters have gathered on the Japanese island of Okinawa vowing to stop a planned relocation of a US military base.

About 70,000 people gathered at a park in the state capital of Naha with signs and banners amid pouring rain and an approaching typhoon. 

Tributes were also paid Okinawa's Governor, Takeshi Onaga, who died on Thursday of cancer.

Since his election in 2014, Onaga had spearheaded opposition to the relocation and criticised Japan's central government for ignoring the voices of Okinawans.

Okinawa was the site of a bloody land battle during the final months of World War Two and now hosts the majority of US forces in Japan.

About half of the 50,000 American troops in Japan are stationed on Okinawa.

The Japanese government has been seeking to move the base to a less populated area of the island but a long-running campaign has been calling for US forces to leave Japan. 

Delays in relocating the base have been an irritant in US-Japan relations.