Dear editor,

In his May 24 New York Times article, ``Japanese leader gives in to U.S. on Okinawa base," Martin Fackler characterizes Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's announcement that Futenma's operations will be moved to Henoko ― as originally agreed to ― as ``a victory for the Obama administration and a humiliating setback for Mr. Hatoyama."

Obviously, in this squabbling, the Hatoyama government succumbed to the Obama administration's all-out pressure to stick to the 2006 bilateral agreement.

Hatoyama raised Okinawans' expectations during the last election campaign by saying that Futenma's functions must be moved away from Okinawa to some place in Japan at the least, so that his last-minute policy flip-flop can be said to be Obama's victory.

The Obama administration should remember, however, that that victory is self-defeating as well because it diametrically contradicts the very principle of democracy which Washington preaches and advocates when dealing with other ``undemocratic" and "unenlightened" nations.

The overwhelming majority of Okinawans are opposed to the Henoko relocation plan or to any plan to move the base around in Okinawa, a situation of which Washington is fully aware.

How dare Obama ask Hatoyama to take a despotic, undemocratic action without any regard given to the wishes of his compatriots?

This certainly represents a complete negation of the fundamental principles of American democracy. Therefore, it is not ``a victory for the Obama administration" by any means at all, as Fackler asserts it to be.

Yoshio Shimoji
Naha, Okinawa, Japan
yshmji37@nirai.ne.jp