Why do they have to be in Okinawa?

NAGO, Japan, Apr 2: Sparkling white sand, a turquoise sea, kids catching sea urchins on a sunny day.

Across Oura Bay from the pristine beach here on Japan's southern island of Okinawa looms what from a distance looks like a resort hotel, but in reality is US Marine base Camp Schwab, one of 37 American military facilities on the island.

Long conscious of being political and cultural stepchildren of mainland Japan, Okinawans are now watching the latest machinations over the future of US military forces on their island with a mixture of resentment, realism and resignation.

''Marines can move thousands of kilometres in one day. Why do they have to be in Okinawa?'' asked Tamura Higashionna, 44, an anti-base activist from the tiny nearby hamlet of Sadake.

US and Japanese officials have agreed to close the Marines' Futenma air base in a crowded part of Okinawa to the south, but only if it is replaced by a new base straddling Camp Schwab, the coast of the rural city of Nago and reclaimed land in the bay.

The plan -- part of a sweeping reorganisation of the more than 50,000 US troops in Japan -- faces opposition from locals worried about noise, crime and the environment, and resentful of Okinawa's heavy burden under the US-Japan security alliance.

''They think it's OK to do this because it's Okinawa and it's far away from Tokyo,'' Higashionna said. ''They're trying to build it where people are the weakest. It's a form of discrimination.'' US military planners say keeping combat Marines on Okinawa -- within striking distance of China and South Korea -- is vital.

''Okinawa has throughout the ages been documented as the trategic location. The combat forces have to be here because that cuts down on transportation time to respond to any conflict or contingency,'' said Marine Lieutenant Colonel Richardo Stewart.

COMPLEX HISTORY Once an independent kingdom whose unique culture was forged by migration from China, Southeast Asia, Polynesia and Japan, Okinawa fell under Japanese domination in the 17th century.

Nearly 140,000 men, women and children died in the Battle of Okinawa toward the end of World War Two, some forced to commit suicide by Japanese soldiers -- a sacrifice many still recall.

The US military occupied Okinawa from 1945 until 1972, and older islanders remember needing passports to travel to Tokyo, about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) to the north. This complex history feeds resentment on the island, which is one of Japan's poorest regions and hosts nearly half of the US military personnel in the country.

''Frankly, I'd like to see the bases moved off Okinawa. That's difficult, but Okinawa suffered greatly in the war and if the bases stay, we bear an unfair burden compared to the rest of Japan,'' said recent high school graduate Taichi Matsuda, 18, as he waited for a department store to open in the capital, Naha.

Outrage over the bases flared in 1995 after three US servicemen raped a 12-year-old schoolgirl and surges periodically after high-profile crimes and accidents.

Some Okinawans, though, have warmer feelings.

''I remember running after US army trucks when I was a kid, shouting 'Gimme, gimme' in broken English, and the soldiers would give us chocolate and gum,'' said taxi driver Takashi Morie, 55, six of whose relatives died in the Battle of Okinawa.

''I think that Americans are kind-hearted,'' he said. ''I think it's better that Japan lost the war to America.''

OPPOSITION, RESIGNATION

Japan and the United States missed a March 31 deadline to wrap up the realignment package, which includes steps to more closely integrate their forces and is part of Washington's effort to transform its military globally to meet modern threats.

Tokyo is now turning up the heat on Okinawa to accept the Futenma relocation plan -- a must if 8,000 Marines are to be shifted off the island, mostly to the US territory of Guam.

But activists vow to block creation of a new base, which is also opposed by Okinawa's governor and the mayor of Nago.

''The US and Japanese governments are taking a big political risk,'' said Yasuhiro Miyagi, a Nago city assembly member. ''They think they can implement this, but I think it's impossible.'' How much momentum the opposition will gain, however, is unclear.

''I'd rather the bases weren't here, but Japan's relations with North Korea aren't very good, so some sort of defence is necessary,'' said a 55-year-old farmer, his face shielded by a straw hat as he caught crabs in the shallow waters of Oura Bay.

''No one wants the bases in their backyard. But the US and Japanese governments have decided, so it's not going to change.'' Fourteen-year-old Toshimitsu Uema sounded similarly resigned as he played with a friend on the Sadake beach.

''I'm afraid we won't be able to catch sea urchins here any more. But I think the base will come.''

REUTERS