'Human chain' around Futenma base

GINOWAN, Okinawa Prefecture--A 13-kilometer "human chain" surrounded the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Sunday, as protesters called for the unconditional return of the base.

According to organizers, 17,000 citizens braved rainy weather to complete the chain. It was the fifth time such a chain had been formed around the Futenma air station since May 2005, when the first chain was made to protest the crash of a Futenma-based U.S. helicopter on Okinawa International University campus in Ginowan in 2004.

After Sunday's event, Ginowan Mayor Yoichi Iha said, "It sent a strong message that there is no longer anywhere in the prefecture to accommodate (a relocation site)."