TOKYO, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Some 30,000 people in northern Japan's Okinawa prefecture protested Sunday against U.S. forces, following the August crash of a helicopter in the area.
The demonstration in Ginowan city, where a military helicopter crashed on a college campus last month, was the largest against U.S. forces in Okinawa since 1995, when 85,000 gathered to protest the rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen.
In a six-point resolution, the protesters called for an apology and compensation for damages caused by the crash; the termination of U.S. military flights over civilian areas; the return of land occupied by the Futemma air base at an early date; and an overhaul of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, which governs U.S. military operations in Japan.
The protesters planned to deliver the resolution, signed by 55,000 people, to the Japanese government and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
