Geneva, September 23 (RHC)-- The governor of Okinawa, Japan, has taken his battle against the construction of a new U.S. military base to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Takeshi Onaga addressed the council Monday after he was elected last year on a platform to stop the base. Speaking Tuesday, Onaga urged the international community to oppose the new U.S. base as a violation of human rights and self-determination.

Governor Takeshi Onaga said: "Japan placed Okinawa for 27 years under U.S. military administration. We were neither Japanese nor Americans. And during that time, many things happened, including a rape of a girl, a jet crashing into the ground of a primary school, and hit-and-run deaths by a U.S. soldier who was acquitted and sent home. And after the return, we found out there is a lot of pollution from toxins, like dioxins, and there is an environmental issue. And even to investigate that, we cannot do it because it is not possible during the U.S.-Japan agreement."