The USMC spokesperson here is intentionally mischaracterizing political speech - in this case, popular resistance to a project of both the US and Japanese states - as "personal" and or "cultural" - "hate speech." The principal reason this base is being built is because of inter-service rivalry; the marines refuse to share command with the airforce - having been driven out of Futenma by the violent outrage of the Okinawans at their presence. They demand a base of their own in Okinawa, on top of the coral reefs, against the will of the Okinawan people. The U.S. and its partners in Tokyo have utilized cash bribes to buy politicians and rightwing thugs to beat down the Japanese and Okinawan resistance for decades. Now we see a new round of outrages committed against them, and resistance to re-entrenchment of the US occupation. The Okinawan people deserve to have their democratic rights returned to them, rather than having them denied by the U.S. and Japanese governments. But U.S. officials put their hands over their ears and start screaming at every mention of renegotiation of the deal. The U.S. government has nothing but contempt for Japan; it is a pawn and a tool to them, and the manifestation of this in Japan's corrupt and remote political regime is obvious. Japan's ruling circle obliges them with this crackdown.

In my opinion, the anti-base protesters in Okinawa have been quite reserved in their campaign against the Futenma relocation. Years of military thuggery, rape, noise pollution, property damage, environmental damage, and straight-up political repression at the hands of pro-base authorities, and now comes a USFJ crony complaining about protesters committing "hate speech." If the far-right were to take a brief glimpse into the annals of world history, they should considered themselves BLESSED that the situation in Okinawa has not devolved into Tehran '79!

After all the BS the Okinawan people had to put up with in the past half-century of de facto US military occupation, they haven't actually resorted to any serious violence. At least no one in recent memory was crazy enough to go torch any of the ammo depots strewn about, nor has anyone tried rigging pipe-bombs onto US convoys, let alone outright assassinating USFJ officials such as Robert Eldritch. That will be the day when Okinawa will have officially gone to hell. Profanities, balloons, and laser pointers should be the very least of the onlookers' concerns!

P.S. the absurd claim by Tim Kao that the protesters are being paid by the Japanese Communist Party is comedy gold, considering that the JCP is a grassroots organizations that does not accept corporate donations and refuses government funding, yet somehow seems to be pulling the strings in a movement that has long transcended party lines. Then again, it was SCAP that tried to boot the JCP out of Okinawa during the de jure US occupation, so it's only logical for the USFJ to follow daddy's footsteps and try to pin the blame on the communists.

It just goes to show the the right-wingers and American hawks/neocons are in bed with each other. No wonder Hatoyama lost the fight.

Perhaps I look at things in too simple a manner, however screaming profanities at women and children, jumping on people's personal vehicles, reaching in windows and grabbing people, and throwing objects at people are certainly not characterized as 'peaceful' in any honest definition.

Further, releasing balloons in the flight path of approaching aircraft and aiming lasers at the cockpits of approaching aircraft at night isn't 'peaceful' or responsible activity either.

Let's have an open and honest discussion about the US presence in Japan and carefully consider the pros and cons. The US strives to be a good neighbor and normally achieves that aim. Yes, the past didn't always live up to the current goal, however I would suggest that Okinawa gains much from the US presence in both economics and security.

I am myself a "rightwing" Japanese citizen and am convinced that in the long run Japan should not depend on foreign powers to defend itself. But in the meantime Japan needs American support...Anyone acquainted with Robert Eldridge knows him to be wise, learned, and witty, with a deep love of this country. One can agree or disagree with his characterization of the protest demonstrators' verbal behavior as "hate speech" (I am not qualified to do more than guess), but I fail to see how the voicing of his opinion can be called a "gaffe"--unless one has the hypersensitive ears of the politically correct.

"rightist TV network?" I could not find it among the scores of television channels offered by my cable provider. Far from being a "TV network," it appears to be a YouTube video site coupled to a few hours of purchased satellite TV time. The Japanese language Wikipedia article about it notes that it has gone bust and been restructured several times.