Regarding the Sept. 16 article "Inose revives push to let civilian airliners use Yokota air base": The aerial photo accompanying the article shows that Yokota Air Base looks exactly like Futenma Air Station on Okinawa. Both foreign bases are located in densely populated residential areas.
Just as the Futenma issue does so in Okinawa, the Yokota issue will certainly awake slumbering Japanese citizens to the hard reality that Japan is no other than a U.S. vassal and military colony. This reality is hard to see in mainland Japan because the U.S. military presence is diluted due to the vastness of the land mass compared with Okinawa. But the essence is the same whether it's Okinawa or mainland Japan.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.