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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| October 28, 2004 |
Asian History Project Team (AHPT) - Uncovering the truth of Japan's contemporary history |
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| Sakuma Rie and Kondo Yoko presenting their work to people onboard |
The Asian History Project Team (AHPT) is a group of volunteers which was formed three years ago during Peace Boat's 34th voyage, which visited North and South Korea. Shocked by the first-hand testimonies of the people they met on both sides of the Korean peninsula, the members realised that they had never been educated about Japan's occupation during World War II and that in fact they only knew what the Japanese government had wanted them to learn. Spurred on by their experience, this group has since published two clearly written history pamphlets aiming to help Japanese people learn the truth behind Japan's contemporary history. |
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| Distributing AHPT's history pamphlets onboard |
Kondo Yoko and Sakuma Rie are founding members of AHPT and joined Peace Boat's 47th voyage from Tokyo to Singapore to hold seminars and continue their research on suppressed versions of the recent Asian historical narrative. AHPT's first pamphlet was published in 2002 and focuses on war crimes committed during Japan's military occupation of neighbouring countries over the twentieth century. Chapters focus on human medical experimentation conducted in Northeast China, the Nanjing massacre and on the painful testimonies of the so-called "Comfort Women" - sexual slaves - in both Korea and China. The information in the pamphlet was collated through first-hand meetings with the victims and witnesses of these crimes, resulting in a message both shocking and grounded in reality. |
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| Sakuma Rie at a press conference in the Philippines discussing the issue of US military bases |
While Kondo and Sakuma spent time introducing the first pamphlet, their main objective in joining the voyage was to introduce the topic of their second pamphlet: US bases in Okinawa, Japan. Speaking to an audience of over three hundred people, the AHPT members spoke about the long-term impact on population and the environment of the US bases in Okinawa. Eleven percent of Okinawa's land is occupied by 38 different US military bases, and 75 percent of the total area of US bases within Japan is located there, together with around 27,000 US troops. The local people suffer from noise, air, land and water pollution and have felt threatened by the presence of such military power for decades. The first US bases were set up as soon as World War II was over, taking over private land and property with little or no compensation. Confiscation of private property, even during war time, is a violation of the Hague Convention. However, by signing the 1951 Peace Treaty with the US, the Japanese government agreed to allow the US to undertake a great expansion of bases in Okinawa, bulldozing protesting farmers out of their land and burning homes in the process. |
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| Mural at the Alliance for Bases Clean-up (ABC) centre in Olongapo, the Philippines |
When Kondo and Sakuma visited Okinawa, they didn't take part in the usual tourist activities that most Japanese nationals do on the tropical islands. Rather, they went to investigate local people's opinions about the US presence in their community. They conducted interviews with the people most affected by US military presence and found their testimonies to be much more emotional than they had ever anticipated, uncovering issues that had not been touched since the war. They listened to explicit stories of former Okinawa "Comfort Women" and details of the collective suicides that took place on the islands. The most horrific confessions were those of people who murdered their own children to save them from being captured, raped or tortured by the US military, as the Japanese government told them would happen. Indoctrinated with fear at the time, they carry deep regret for these actions, and will forever be haunted by what they felt forced to do in order to protect their loved ones from falling into the wrong hands. The silence and tear-stained faces of the audience was evidence of the impact AHPT's findings brought to people onboard the ship. |
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| Sakuma and Kondo with GU students at the anti-base demonstration |
Currently the US government is planning to build another US base on the island of Henoko, which will cause considerable damage to the island's coral and other marine life. Kondo and Sakuma are trying to raise awareness about the disastrous consequences this could have on the local environment. Joining the Global University exposure programme in Subic Bay, the Philippines, the AHPT members added to their research this case of environmental damage caused by previous military occupation of land. From an economic perspective, while the US bases are often credited for bringing jobs and wealth to the local economy, the fact that there have been 14,000 new jobs since the base closure indicate that this is not always the case. Most important for the AHPT team was the chance to participate in an anti-military base demonstration and to interact with the people who used popular opposition to the military base at Subic Bay to shut it down, and learn from their experience. |
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| Participants onboard fundraising for Henoko island in Okinawa |
As part of a fundraising campaign to help the people of Henoko, a total of 700 dollars has so far been raised onboard. This money will go towards building a boat to conduct eco-tours in order to inform the people of the need to preserve the natural beauty and sea-life around them, and help in putting a stop to increasing militarism. However, what these two activists really want is to educate the younger generation in Japan to incite people power, without having the fear of being seen as anti-government extremists. Breaking down barriers, raising awareness and creating a civil society movement against militarism are their long term goals for Japan. Their books and seminars, they say "...are simply first tiny steps towards this."
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