Okinawan people, suffering from pollution from US military bases, want to file a complaint against Japan at the United Nations conference
Beijing, July 17th (Xinhua) - Japanese media reported on the 16th that a citizen group in Okinawa Prefecture is preparing to file a complaint at a United Nations conference regarding water and soil pollution in the vicinity of the US military base in Japan, calling on the governments of Japan and the United States to resolve the issue.
A citizen group from Inowan City, Okinawa Prefecture departed from Japan on the 15th and plans to attend the United Nations Expert Mechanism on Indigenous Rights meeting scheduled to open on the 17th in Switzerland. Members of the group stated that their protests in Japan were not received by the US side, and therefore decided to file a complaint at a United Nations conference, hoping to prompt the governments of Japan and the US to respond.
A survey conducted by this group in August last year showed that the soil of Putianjian Second Primary School was contaminated with perfluorinated and perfluoroalkyl substances, and the US military base is highly likely to be the source of pollution. The members of the group have made requests to the US side to enter the base for investigation through channels such as the government of Inobu Bay, the Okinawa Prefecture government, the Okinawa Defense Agency of the Japanese Ministry of Defense, and members of parliament, but have not received a response.
The head of this group, Naomi Machida, said, "For the children, we must work hard to solve the pollution problem no matter what."
A latest survey by the Okinawa Prefectural Government shows that water bodies in 30 locations around the US military base in Okinawa have been found to exceed the limit of perfluorinated and perfluoroalkyl substances. The Okinawa Prefectural Government is calling on nearby residents not to drink water from these locations to avoid endangering their health.
Perfluorinated and perfluoroalkyl substances are difficult to degrade and accumulate in the environment and human body, hence they are called "permanent chemicals". Some experts pointed out that if a large amount of water polluted by such substances is drunk for a long time, it may affect reproductive health and children's growth and development, and even cause diseases such as breast cancer and prostate cancer.