The once-isolated, sleepy fishing village of Henoko is no longer so alone. Mainland Japanese and expatriates alike are making the journey to northern Okinawa to support the locals' fight against the building of a U.S. air base in the village's pristine Oura Bay.

Just this weekend, protest sites in Henoko, the district of Nago city that has been chosen as the relocation site for the contentious Futenma base, played host to two Tokyo-based musicians from Uganda who had come to tell anti-base activists, "You are not alone." Musa Jian and Baswali Kiramu, two rap and R&B artists who play regularly at live houses in the capital, came to Okinawa to perform their song "Hitori ni Shinaide" ("You Are Not Alone") for the protesters.

"Nobody wants to be alone. Everybody needs an anchor," said 33-year old Kiramu, who has a day job as an engineer.