Okinawa’s 1972 return to Japan left its U.S. base burden largely unchanged

Evidence

In 1962, the Okinawan legislature passed a unanimous resolution condemning the United States for engaging in colonial rule, and by 1968, 85 percent of Okinawan and Japanese survey respondents favored the immediate return of Okinawa. Eventually, Prime Minister Eisaku Sato and President Richard Nixon negotiated the return of Okinawa to Japanese rule by 1972. However, the actual base land to be returned was minimal. The proportion of U.S. bases in Okinawa as opposed to the rest of Japan would actually increase. The agreement failed to mollify many Okinawans. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 849

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to ‘Grafting & Growth’ ADDENDUM theme? No — better, connects to broader pattern of nominal decolonization that leaves underlying inequity intact, similar to arguments in other postcolonial readings.