Last month, as many as 100,000 demonstrators gathered to protest the deployment of the Marine Corps Osprey aircraft, which many Okinawans see as adding to what they already consider an unfairly heavy American presence.
Bob Crow, leader of the left-wing Rail, Maritime and Transport Union, said the walkout, which was widely expected, had been to protest the deployment of British troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere and to object to the union's expulsion from the ruling Labor Party.
Residents on the Japanese island of Okinawa had protested the deployment of the Marine Corps tilt-rotor troop transport called the Osprey, which has had a series of crashes.
Just over eight months before Top Girls hit the stage, 40 women had marched from Cardiff to Greenham Common to protest against the deployment of Cruise missiles.
Candlelight vigils to protest the troop deployment are planned for Wednesday night in Seoul and Pusan, South Korea's second largest city, which is also Mr. Kim's hometown.
There also was some speculation that the bombing might have been meant to protest the recent deployment here of American-made Patriot antimissile systems, which were requested by Turkey after Syria lobbed shells across their border.
Several thousand demonstrators took to the streets of Pristina, Kosovo's capital, on Tuesday to protest the planned deployment of a European Union judicial mission that many ethnic Albanians fear will partition the new country.
Fury when the rape occurred was on top of protests over the deployment of a new aircraft shadowed by safety concerns, the tilt-rotor MV-22 Osprey.
Beijing has vigorously protested against the deployment, fearing its radar could see into its missile deployments.
Political activists have criticised FITs and said that they feel the aim of FIT deployment during protests is to prevent legal protests.
