Okinawa Governor, Takeshi Onaga announced earlier this week that he is rescinding approvals for the construction of a U.S. air base in Henoko. He has ordered Japan’s Defense Ministry to stop surveying and construction work on the new air base, putting him at odds with Japanese President Shinzo Abe who has been aggressively pushing for constitutional changes to allow Japan to engage in military action, even if the country is not directly being attacked. Why is this base so important to both the Japanese and US governments? And what’s fueling Okinawans’ opposition to US military bases?
Guests:
- Ayano Ginoza, Reverend Deborah Lee, Women for Genuine Security
- Yoko Fukumura, Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence
A new article by journalist, Puck Lo, shows that for years, counties along the US-Mexico border have been routing 9-1-1 emergency calls made by migrants crossing the desert directly to Border Patrol.
In the early 2000s, fueled a combination of by trade policies like NAFTA that drove more people to migrate across the US-Mexico border, and increased militarization of the border which pushed migrants to take more dangerous routes, more and more people were making emergency calls to 911. In 2007, Pima County Arizona began routing calls from migrants directly to Border Patrol. Since then, counties in Arizona, Texas, and Washington State have followed suit.
Guests:
- Puck Lo, journalist, author of “For Migrants in Arizona who call 911, It’s Border Patrol on the Line”
- Genevieve Schroeder, No More Deaths, Derechos Humanos