US Troops Out of Okinawa Now!

The International Women's Alliance condemns the rape of two women on separate occasions allegedly committed by two US Marines in Okinawa, an island in Japan. One of the Marines also allegedly harmed another woman, who was trying to prevent the sexual assault.

The presence of US bases in Japan and elsewhere in the Asia Pacific is a long narrative fraught with violence against and murders of women and children. In 2024 alone, 80 people connected to the US military have been implicated in sexual crimes in the island. Since 1945, 371 sexual assault cases have been committed by American troops in Okinawa, including 12- and 14-year-old girls.

We support the courageous women of Okinawa and the rest of Japan in the call that the US troops must move out of Okinawa now. The US troops have certainly no business staying in Japan, consuming resources, while wreaking havoc on the people and the land. The US imperialist strategy of continuous presence in multiple countries in Asia Pacific also creates so much friction among the countries here.

We call on the Japanese government to listen to the clamour of their citizens when they say they want US troops out now. When US troops and their bases are present in a country, it is always the people who suffer. It is for this reason that women of all nations must join the campaign to end the reign of US bases in Asia Pacific.

US troops out of Okinawa now!