Petition to White House “We the People” website calls for halt at Henoko
A new tactic to halt the landfill work at the MCAS Futenma relocation site off Camp Schwab in Henoko has emerged as a result of a motion created on the “We the People” White House website.
The motion urges the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to stop the landfill at the MCAS Futenma relocation site in Henoko until a referendum in Okinawa scheduled for Feb. 24th has been conducted and its results tallied up.
The project was initiated by 32-year-old Robert Kajiwara, a singer songwriter and human rights activist from Hawaii, who has his family roots in Okinawa, on Dec. 8. The White House is required to respond to any petition that collects a minimum 100,000 signatures in 30 days. The number of signatures exceeded the required threshold in about 10 days.
“People in Okinawa need to show the world their determination of never giving up,” Kajiwara said.
Celebrities, including Japanese fashion model Rola who has 5.2 million followers on her Instagram site, have joined in the Kajiwara’s effort and called through their social networking sites on people to sign up.
The petition claims that the Government of Japan and the U.S. military “have so far ignored the democratic will” of Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki and local people.
The White House is expected to review the petition and release its official response within 60 days.