The US military base at Okinawa in Japan is proving to be a great threat to the local people of the island. The US Marines have become a security threat to the residents of the region. In a recent incident of misdemeanor, a US Marine Tyrone Hadnott has been accused of raping a 14-year old Japanese girl. This incident has brought back memories of a similar brutal occurrence in Okinawa in 1995. However, the US administration was quick to take action against the guilty and a US envoy expressed regret but the people of Japan are unlikely to forgive the US Marines whose misconducts are continuing unabated. Okinawa had been converted to a US military base following the Japan-US Security Treaty after the end of the Second World War. The US military base had significantly changed the economy of the island whose residents mainly survived on agriculture as their chief mean of livelihood. With construction of bases, the main employment of the island changed to base work. The residents also earn money by leasing their lands to the US soldiers. However, with improvement in livelihood the residents of Okinawa, especially women, faced harrowing incidents of crime perpetrated by the US Marines. In 1996 the then Governor of Okinawa tried to urge the government of Japan to remove the US military base in the region by organizing a referendum. However, despite the threats the people of Okinawa faced from the Marines they were divided on the issue of removal of the US military base from the region for financial reasons. Until and unless the governments of Japan and USA decide on whether they would take stringent measures against the misbehaving US soldiers the problems of the residents of Okinawa will not be resolved. Via: Yahoo