Tens of thousands of demonstrators have rallied on the Japanese island of Okinawa, protesting against the heavy US military presence and violent crimes by American personnel there.
Gathered on Sunday afternoon, protesters expressed their frustrations with the US after a former Marine employed as a civilian base worker allegedly raped and murdered a 20-year-old local woman in April.
The case has intensified long-standing opposition to the military bases, a key part of the US-Japan security alliance, on the island popular with tourists.
The rally also called for the scrapping of plans by Washington and Tokyo to move a major US Marine facility in the centre of the island to pristine waters off the northern coast.
Okinawa's Governor, Takeshi Onaga, who was expected to attend the rally, opposes the plan and instead wants Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which sits in the middle of a crowded city, to be moved off the island altogether.
He has revoked approval for work on the facility, in a setback to the plan, despite the fact that Washington and Tokyo vow to push forward.
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