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| Protesters gather for anti-US military rally in Okinawa | Protesters gather for anti-US military rally in Okinawa |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Crowds are gathering on the Japanese island of Okinawa to protest against the heavy US military presence there. | Crowds are gathering on the Japanese island of Okinawa to protest against the heavy US military presence there. |
| Demonstrators are angry after a former US Marine employed as a civilian worker was arrested over the rape and murder of a local 20-year-old woman. | Demonstrators are angry after a former US Marine employed as a civilian worker was arrested over the rape and murder of a local 20-year-old woman. |
| The case has intensified longstanding opposition to the military bases, spurring calls for US military personnel to be moved off the island. | The case has intensified longstanding opposition to the military bases, spurring calls for US military personnel to be moved off the island. |
| Okinawa hosts 26,000 US military personnel. | Okinawa hosts 26,000 US military personnel. |
| They work and live on bases that cover a fifth of the island and are a key part of the US-Japan security alliance. | They work and live on bases that cover a fifth of the island and are a key part of the US-Japan security alliance. |
| Anger simmers over Okinawa base burden | Anger simmers over Okinawa base burden |
| The protesters will rally in the prefectural capital Naha, with a simultaneous gathering due to happen outside parliament in Tokyo in sympathy. | |
| Okinawa's Governor Takeshi Onaga is expected to attend the Naha rally. | Okinawa's Governor Takeshi Onaga is expected to attend the Naha rally. |
| The demonstrators will also call for the scrapping of plans by Washington and Tokyo to move a major US Marine facility in the centre of the island to a more remote area. | The demonstrators will also call for the scrapping of plans by Washington and Tokyo to move a major US Marine facility in the centre of the island to a more remote area. |
| But Mr Onaga and residents want the Futenma base to be removed entirely. | But Mr Onaga and residents want the Futenma base to be removed entirely. |
| The decision to move the facility was sparked by the rape of a 12-year-old Japanese girl by three US servicemen in 1995. | The decision to move the facility was sparked by the rape of a 12-year-old Japanese girl by three US servicemen in 1995. |
| But the plan has been delayed by local opposition and legal manoeuvring. | But the plan has been delayed by local opposition and legal manoeuvring. |
| Okinawa was under US occupation for 27 years, following World War Two. | Okinawa was under US occupation for 27 years, following World War Two. |