Economic dependency forces Okinawa to accept the bases.

Evidence

During my first visit to the prefecture, Okinawa International Professor of Politics Manabu Sato told our student group that Okinawa ultimately accepts the bases because, given the island’s isolation, small size, and lack of natural resources, it needs the government aid they bring. The Japanese government has thus been pouring tens of millions into Okinawa as a “bribe” to make them accept the Futenma replacement, he explained. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 871