Japan Speaking Tour #6 — Okinawa University
By Pat Elder
September 29, 2024
Okinawan organizers and activists gather for a photo after our presentation at Okinawa University.
On the evening of Tuesday, August 13, 2024, we were honored to present our findings on PFAS (per-and poly fluoroalkyl) contamination throughout Okinawa and mainland Japan during an event at Okinawa University. The current president and past president of the university warmly welcomed us to the lecture hall. Okinawa is a small island about 400 miles south of mainland Japan. Although Okinawa only comprises .6% of the total landmass of Japan it “hosts” 70% of the U.S. military forces stationed in Japan. Consequently, the island is profoundly contaminated with PFAS and a cocktail of other deadly chemicals like trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, agent orange, benzene, toluene, tetrachloroethylene and other lethal substances. Okinawa is a hotbed of military resistance for this reason and the standard fare of pressing problems associated with the presence of U.S. forces, including rape and drunk driving.
The “Exchange Symposium with the Veterans for Peace Okinawa Delegation” featured the following speakers:
Pat Elder, Director of Military Poisons, contamination expert
Ann Wright, former U.S. Army Colonel, (participating by video)
Matt Hoh, Former Marine, (participating by video)
Suzuyo Takazato, Okinawan Women Act Against Military Violence
Hiromasa Iha, Secretary General of the Association for the Abandonment of the Plan to Establish a Self Defense ForceDr. Kunitoshi Sakurai, Okinawa Environmental Network
Ann Wright and Matt Hoh provided compelling remarks regarding the unfortunate developments in East Asia’s overall geopolitical environment we have covered in prior dispatches. Suzuyo Takazato addressed how women in Okinawa have experienced sexual trauma as a result on the U.S. military presence. The numbers are astounding, and the ongoing abuse is real. It is a pathetic, upsetting situation. Although we are nonviolent it makes me think of Jesus flipping over the tables in the temple.
Last year we tested waters at 40 locations for PFAS contamination ourselves while we instructed locals on how to do it. We presented our findings through the Japanese page on the www.militarypoisons.org website and through direct email correspondence to several hundred Japanese readers. We were fortunate to attract several dozen mainstream Japanese newspaper and television news outlets to cover the story of the PFAS contamination. It was “Breaking News” for millions although the US has knowingly poisoned the Japanese with these chemicals since the early 1970’s. Frustrated activists and academics throughout the country expressed their appreciation to us because Rachel Clark and I are US citizens, and therefore in a position to attract media attention. Rachel has been organizing this VFP-sponsored tour for many years, so we were not regarded as strangers. We have seen dozens of Japanese wearing VFP T-shirts. This year, Rachel and Ken’ichi Narikawa organized activists throughout the country to test surface waters flowing from a total of 40 locations near Japanese and American military bases.
U.S. Forces Japan generally denies the contamination and accepts no responsibility for it. They hide behind the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the US and Japan. The SOFA addresses a host of issues between the occupiers and the Japanese imperial subjects, including the issue of contamination. It is hardly an agreement. Instead, it is viewed by many in Japan as a one-sided document that dictates terms to the conquered Japanese. For instance, while the U.S. claims it is not responsible for the contamination of groundwater, soil, rivers, aquatic life, and the air, it prohibits Japanese authorities from entering bases to conduct scientific testing. The victors are judge, jury, and executioner.
The issue of the dictatorial SOFA is most apparent with the return of bases to Japanese authority. When the initial SOFA was executed in the 1950’s there was scant attention given to deadly contamination and certainly, no one could imagine the perpetual impact of these “forever chemicals.” We tested waters flowing from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa that will be handed over to Japanese control after the U.S. completes construction of the new Henoko abomination. Like other facilities, we took water samples from streams as close to the boundary fence of the base as possible. Futenma is terribly poisoned and so are the other bases where we tested. Our testing is one way to point out the deadly contradictions of U.S. policy. If the Japanese can’t get into the bases to test, at least we can do this.
PFAS in the rivers and the sea accumulates in fish, poisoning the public by spreading cancer and disease. The chemicals affect the unborn. They never go away.
Meanwhile, neither the U.S. government nor the Japanese governments regulate PFAS in fish. How many times can a government turn its head and pretend that it just doesn’t see?
Japan is trying to keep its drinking water under 50 parts per trillion while the U.S. is regulating PFOS and PFOA at 4 parts per trillion in drinking water. Meanwhile, the U.S. has unregulated fish near many military bases with more than a million parts per trillion in their filet. We are trying to get the Japanese government to test their fish. I can tell you the Japanese people eat a lot of fish.
The following results show PFOS in fish from the Hija River at nearby Kadena Air Base. It is important for us to teach the people of the world this dreadful reality:
ng/g = nanograms per gram.
nanograms per gram = parts per billion.
1 part per billion = 1,000 parts per trillion, (ppt,)
__________
Swordtail 49,000-102,000 ppt
Pearl Danio 43,000- 111,000 ppt
Guppy 35,000 - 48,000 ppt
Tilapia 22,000 - 100,000 ppt
The Downs Law Group helps to make this work possible. Their support allows us to research and write about military contamination around the world. They’ve helped us buy hundreds of PFAS kits and they’ve helped pay for flights and hotels. The firm is working to provide legal representation to individuals in the U.S. and abroad with a high likelihood of exposure to a host of contaminants.
The Downs Law Group employs attorneys accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist those who have served in obtaining VA Compensation and Pension Benefits they are rightly owed