Right-wingers toe the U.S. line

The other day, while driving in Naha, I encountered a sound truck operated by ultra-nationalists. It was blaring out Imperial Japanese Army tunes with two national flags hoisted on top: One was the Rising Sun and the other was the Stars and Stripes. Clearly these right-wingers identify themselves not only with Japan, naturally, but also with the United States.

This identity complex doesn't vary much among people with a penchant for rightist ideology, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his cohorts. Author Ayako Sono and NHK President Katsuto Momi, judging by recent news reports, appear to think the U.S. is their best friend and protector helping to promote the cause of regaining Japan's militaristic prestige.

This may partly explain why the Abe government is so intent on building a new base at Henoko, northern Okinawa, to replace the U.S. Marine air base at Futenma. They want to return "U.S. kindness" by meeting Washington's incessant demands for the new base. Indeed, they consider anyone opposed to the government's plan a traitor.

This was what we witnessed, for example, on Jan. 27, 2013, when 144 Okinawa municipal heads, prefectural legislators and constituency-elected Diet members marched in Tokyo's streets to protest against the deployment of U.S. Osprey aircraft in Okinawa as well as the planned relocation of Futenma's facilities.

On that day, too, right-wing groups gathered and counter-demonstrated along the way, shouting at the Okinawan demonstrators, calling them "traitors" and the like. Traitors?

They don't seem to understand who is undermining our nation's sovereignty. They don't understand that building the replacement base for Futenma is no different from the act of selling our sovereign soil or, more broadly, our sovereignty itself to a foreign country.

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.